Comox year-round School Street

The School Street:

Encourages more walking, biking, and rolling to and from school
Has reduced congestion and vehicle volumes around the school

As part of the 2021 School Streets Pilot, a car-free block was created on Comox Street, between Cardero and Bidwell streets, during school pick up and drop off times. This helped create a safer and more predictable environment for families and children to enjoy.

Because of the pilot's success and the feedback collected over the last 2 years, we are considering creating a dedicated public space for the school and the broader community to enjoy by implementing a year-round School Street in fall 2023.

What's happeningHelp us design a year round School Street

In spring 2023, we will engage with the Lord Roberts Elementary School community and neighbouring residents in the West End to explore and collect feedback on the look and function of a year-round school street on one block of Comox Street, between Cardero and Bidwell streets.

The goal of the year-round School Street is to create a safe, welcoming car-free public space for the school and community to enjoy.
Consistent with our approach to many public spaces and plazas, we will initially use interim materials to transform the road space and apply what we learn from community feedback into a future permanent design.

Feedback collected from this first engagement will guide the development of the interim design and help create positive changes in the local community. This full-time public space, potentially installed in fall 2023, could include new amenities like pavement murals, seating, gardens, etc.

West End area residents will receive information in the mail on how to participate in engagement opportunities and how to provide feedback.

Questions? Email: SchoolActiveTravel@vancouver.ca

What to expect

You will be able to walk, bike, and roll on the year-round School Street.
The space will be designed for active travel, play, gathering, and other community use.

Impacts on transportation and accessibility
- All other blocks around the school, apart from Comox Street between Bidwell and Cardero streets, will remain accessible by motor vehicle if needed. There are no resident driveways on Comox Street between Bidwell Street and Cardero Street.
- Additional accessible parking spaces have been added around the school to accommodate parents and students with accessibility needs who arrive by motor vehicle.
- Traffic counts conducted during the pilot showed a reduction in motor vehicle volumes around the school.
Emergency vehicles will continue to have complete access to the street.
What the year-round School Street could include
We want your feedback through our School Community and Residential Neighbours Survey on what you want to see in the space.

Potential options may include:
- Pavement murals (with the school community and neighbourhood involvement)
- New seating
- New gardens or planting
- Other amenities
We are working closely with the Vancouver School Board, Vancouver Fire and Rescue Services, and other stakeholder groups to make sure our design can safely foster the same School Street benefits experienced during the pilot.

Background

Why we chose Comox Street (Cardero to Bidwell Street)
Lord Roberts Elementary School first participated in the School Streets Pilot for 4 weeks in the spring of 2021 before extending the program to the entire school year in 2021-22 and 2022-23. During this time, a car-free block was created on Comox Street (Cardero to Bidwell Street) during school pick up and drop off times.

The program has been supported by a dedicated group of volunteers, who implement the school street daily from September to June, but the time and coordination required by volunteers to implement the daily school street make this model difficult to sustain over the longer term.

We propose making the same block of Comox Street a year-round School Street to:
- Help create a safe and enjoyable public space for the school and community to thrive in and enjoy
- Improve safety for those walking, biking, and rolling on Comox Street at all hours of the day
What we have we heard so far
During the first 2 years of the School Streets Program
- The school community reported an increased sense of safety
- Families reported using more active modes to get to and from school, which resulted in a reduction in motor vehicle traffic around the school
In the 2021-22 school year:
- 95% of students and 75% of parents reported feeling safer on the street
- 42% of families reported walking more
- 24% of families reported cycling more
The program received widespread support with 98% of students and 84% of school families wanting it to continue.
Difference between the School Streets Program and a year-round School Street

School Streets Program

It's a temporary initiative at select schools for 4 weeks each spring. The program consists of setting up a car-free block beside a school open to walking, biking, and rolling during pick up/drop off (30 to 60 minutes, depending on location).

Year-round School Street

It proposes to implement the School Street measures at all times of the day, all year long. The street will remain accessible for people walking, biking, and rolling, but vehicle access and parking will not be available (except for emergency services). New amenities may also be available for the community to use and enjoy.