School travel planning: A Canadian pilot evaluation

Abstract

Background:Active school transport (AST) may be an important source of children's physical activity (PA). 'School Travel Plans' (STP) may increase AST by addressing school specific concerns such as road safety and traffic. Purpose:The purpose of this pilot study was to determine the potential impact of school travel planning (STP) for increasing AST in Canada.Methods: A pilot School Travel Planning (STP) intervention was conducted at twelve schools in four Canadian provinces. STP Facilitators worked with the schools to create and implement an action plan encouraging active transportation choices at each school. The intervention was evaluated using parental self-report (n=1520).Results: Thirteen per cent of families reported that they drove less to/from school because of the Travel Plan implementation. Thirty-seven percent of children walked to school and 43% from school to home. Distance and convenience were the primary reasons given for continued driving. Conclusions:While data provides tentative support for the STP process in Canada, it is critical that future STP initiatives explicitly address parental convenience and time constraints as barriers to greater AST.