29 Jul A Collaborative Effort to Reimagine Streets for Children Across Canada

By Jiya Benni, 8 80 Cities Director of Programs & Development

The 2025-2026 school year saw 11 School Streets implemented across Canada, from Vancouver and Burnaby in BC, Edmonton in Alberta, Mississauga, Markham, and Kingston in Ontario, to Montreal and Gatineau in Quebec, as part of the National Active School Streets Initiative (NASSI).  

School Streets is a simple idea and program that closes streets in front of schools to cars and opens them up to people at the start and end of the school day to prioritize safe walking conditions for children, their caregivers and teachers. It not only increases active travel but also reduces air pollution, improves road safety, supports children’s independent mobility, and fosters social connection.

While School Streets is often considered an emerging program in Canada, municipalities such as the City of Vancouver, the City of Victoria, and the City of Saanich have formalized programs in place to support the planning and implementation of School Streets in their communities. The City of Vancouver has been running spring School Street programs since 2021 as part of their Climate Emergency Action Plan and  Ville de Montréal has been trailblazing the way toward creating permanent School Streets in Canada. A few years ago, in 2019, Victoria, BC, and Toronto, ON, saw week-long School Street pop-ups implemented by local groups and non-profit organizations like 8 80 Cities. In Toronto, 8 80 Cities created Toronto’s first pop-up School Street as part of the 8 80 Streets project. For four days in October 2019, the pop-up created a temporary car-free environment on Mountview Ave during school drop-off and pick-up times to prioritize safe walking conditions for children at Keele Street Public School.  

Four Communities, Six School Streets

In the 2025 – 2026 school year, 8 80 Cities supported four communities to implement School Streets through capacity building and one-on-one support for ideation and strategizing. This included the City of Vancouver, Boys and Girls Club (BGC) Southeast Kingston, the City of Mississauga, and the City of Markham and York Region School District School Board. The City of Vancouver implemented a year-long School Street at Lord Selkirk Elementary School in Vancouver, BC. This School Street was launched in September 2025 and was open every day from Monday to Friday during morning drop-off and afternoon pickups. The city implemented a paid staff model and hired a local nonprofit organization for managing and activating the closure. The city also launched a month-long pilot School Street at Hastings Elementary School in May 2026. The pilot was successful, and a year-long School Street will be implemented at this location in the 2026-2027 school year.

Stepping stones and hot chocolate tent at Lord Selkirk School Street, Vancouver BC (Photo: Green Communities Canada)

One-month pilot at Lord Hastings Elementary School, Vancouver BC (Photos: Green Communities Canada)

BGC Kingston Southeast implemented a year-long School Street at Our Lady Lourdes Catholic School in Kingston, ON in September 2025. This was open Monday to Fridays during morning and afternoon drop-offs. The community received the School Street very positively, and it even led to informal walking groups.

Our Lady Lourdes School Street, Kingston ON (Photo: Patricia Collins) 

In Mississauga, ON, the city implemented a School Street at Corliss Public School in September 2025 with the intention of running it for the whole school year. Data showed us that it improved active school travel rates and reduced dangerous travel behaviour. But the city had to shut down the School Street amidst rising pressure from a group of parents and residents. The city continued to support active school travel, though, through other measures at this school. Based on this experience, the city implemented a month-long pilot at Sts Peter and Paul Catholic Elementary School in Mississauga, to socialize the idea of School Streets to the community first and get their feedback before implementing a year-long program in the 2026-2027 school year.

Sts Peter and Paul School Street, Mississauga ON (Photo: 8 80 Cities)

City of Markham and York Region School District Board implemented a month-long pilot in May 2026 at Black Walnut Public School. Their permitting process required them to use barricades that passed the Hostile Vehicle Mitigation (HMV) measures. This was an unforeseen expense. To keep costs low, the team decided to run the pilot in two phases. In Phase 1 that ran for two weeks, they closed only a single vehicle. This did not need HMV measures. In Phase 2, that ran for another two weeks, they closed the entire street with HMV measures. Check out this guide for more information on HMV measures in Ontario.

Black Walnut School Street, Markham ON (Photo: 8 80 Cities)

Read about the other School Streets implemented in the 2025-2026 school year in this article from Green Communities Canada. 

A One-of-a-kind Program 

NASSI is a one-of-a-kind program led by Green Communities Canada. It provides funding to more than 20 local partner organizations for the planning and implementation of School Streets in their communities. The duration of School Streets can range from a week to a year. Research partners like University of British Columbia, Toronto Metropolitan University, Queen’s University and Universite de Montreal study the impact of the year-long School Streets on children.

NASSI also provides the local partner organizations the opportunity to be part of a virtual Community of Practice and a six-part Training Program, led by the program’s technical leads – Centre d’écologie urbaine, the Society for Children and Youth of BC, and 8 80 Cities. Come September, we would have finished two years of facilitating a Community of Practice sessions and delivered two rounds of the Training Program.

Through its unique model, NASSI has been instrumental for communities, big and small, to test and expand different models and formats of School Streets. We will be launching a Practitioners’ Toolkit and supporting many more School Streets in the 2026-2027 school year. Stay tuned!