Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 28, 2026

Evaluating the Effect of Roadside Parking on a Dual-Direction Urban Street
Published on: January 20, 2023
School travel planning: mobilizing school and community resources to encourage active school transportation
Ron Buliung1, Guy Faulkner, Theresa Beesley
1Department of Geography, University of Toronto Mississauga, ON, Canada. ron.buliung@utoronto.ca
Background:
Active school transport (AST), school travel using an active mode like walking, may be important to children's overall physical activity. A "school travel plan" (STP) documents a school's transport characteristics and provides an action plan to address school and neighborhood barriers to AST.
Methods:
We conducted a pilot STP intervention at 12 schools in 4 Canadian provinces. Facilitators and school personnel created and implemented AST action plans. Parent's self-reports (N = 1489) were the basis for evaluating the intervention. A content analysis identified type, frequency, and perceived success of initiatives.
Results:
School travel plans emphasized education and promotion, and AST activities and events. Capital improvement projects were more common at schools in older suburban neighborhoods, whereas enforcement was more common at schools in newer suburban neighborhoods. Rates of active transportation increased from 43.8% to 45.9%. At follow-up, 13.3% of households reported less driving. Parents/caregivers cited weather, convenience, and trip chaining as primary reasons for continued driving.
Conclusion:
The STP process may facilitate changes to patterns of school travel. An STP can expand a school's capacity to address transportation issues through mobilization of diverse community resources. Future STP initiatives may benefit from addressing convenience, safety through enforcement, and by examining how schools can be supported in implementing infrastructure improvements.
Related Concept Videos
Active Transport
Primary active transporters, like Na+, K+ and -ATPase, directly utilize ATP to move ions across the membrane. These transporters play significant roles in various physiological processes. For instance, Na+, K+ and -ATPase maintain...
Social Traps
Secondary Active Transport
Secondary Active Transport
Short-distance Transport of Resources
Persuasion Strategies