Written By Jan Sims
KOMOKA – There is something new for families at Parkview Public School in Komoka this fall. Wayfinding Signs have been installed at several points near the school to help kids and families plan the route to school.
The signs contain information on the direction of Parkview as well the time to walk or bike to the school, which is located on Oxbow Drive. The installation of the signs follows consultation with the school community and the municipality, working with local bus consortiums.
“They take their maps and identify where kids live who are in walking distance of the school, which is 1.6 kilometers, and they identify 3 or 4 routes which kids are most likely to take within that distance to maximize the number of kids who will see the signs, and also to identify the safest routes,” says Andrew Clark with the region-wide Active & Safe Routes to School Steering Committee.
The signs have been posted at six points in the Parkview school area. “We are not sending them down major roads if we don’t have to. We make sure there are sidewalks. We take those things in consideration to make sure those routes we select are the safest or most supportive of children walking to school,” says Grant.
Research based on other communities where the signs have gone up has shown that people often perceive the location of the school as being farther than it actually is, and that can lead to a reluctance to walk to school.
“They act as unofficial school zone signs. School zone signs can only be on streets that surround or touch the school property. But these signs have no limitations, so we are able to put them in areas where kids are going to walk, so parents and drivers see that and know ‘hey, there’s going to be kids walking here,’” says Grant.
As well as the safety component for alerting drivers, the benefits include physical fitness. “Children who are active when they are young, grow up to be active,” says Grant.
