The Insurance Corporation of British Columbia (ICBC) has launched a "Safer School Travel" program, which envisions developing a "School Road Safety Plan" for every school in British Columbia. The scope of the plan includes encouraging the use of alternative modes, and enhancing the safety of travel for all students. This can include measures dealing with walking, cycling, transit and cars. ICBC has piloted the development of a School Road Safety Plan at the Royal Oak Middle School in British Columbia. The success of the plan is reliant on active participation of five key stakeholders, namely: the School Board (crossing guards, school transit, on-site facilities); the School (awareness/education for students and parents); the local government (infrastructure provision and maintenance); the Parent Advisory Committee (overall management, Parent Parking Patrol, SpeedWatch, supervision); ICBC (implementation funding, specialist knowledge). In order to get the ongoing commitment to the project, ICBC has made it a condition of funding that all stakeholders sign a "School Road Safety Accord". This accord defines the contributions and expectations of each party. A primary consideration in this regard is that the School and PAC commit to continuing their functions after ICBC and the local government have provided the initial funding. This paper will provide an overview of this work in progress. (Author/publisher)
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