Sts. Peter and Paul Catholic Elementary School is the latest Mississauga school to take part in a pilot study in which cars are not welcome at the school at certain times of the day. (Photo: City of Mississauga)

Another Mississauga school has taken steps to improve student safety by  keeping cars away from the building as part of a Canada-wide pilot project.

Sts. Peter and Paul Catholic Elementary School will conclude its nearly four-week-long participation in the national School Streets test run on Friday, said the City of Mississauga, which has been inviting local schools to take part since it first joined the initiative in 2022.

Since May 4, the east-end school, located near Rathburn Road East and Central Parkway East, has cut off front-of-the-building access to cars at specific times of the day in a direct attempt to increase road safety in the immediate vicinity of the school.

Sts. Peter and Paul is the second Mississauga school to join the pilot since late last summer.

Corliss Public School in Malton is already on board with the School Streets initiative. Since last September, vehicles have been kept away from student drop-off and pickup areas at that school at specific times of the day.

The road/student safety program, in which a car-free environment is established at drop-off time in the morning and pickup time in the afternoon using barricades and road closure signage in front of schools, concludes at Corliss the end of this school year.

Making things safer for students is the goal

The goal of the pilot study, simply put, is to make it safer for students to travel to and from school.

“This program helps create a safe and community friendly space for students by closing the street in front of the school to vehicle traffic,” city officials said earlier in describing the ongoing pilot study.

Officials say the program also encourages students to be active by walking, biking or rolling to and from school.

Mississauga Deputy Mayor and Ward 4 Coun. John Kovac, in whose ward the school is located, said he’s glad Sts. Peter and Paul participated in what he called a “great initiative.”

He added that by creating safer streets, the pilot study “allows students and their families to get active and walk, bike or roll to and from school. Not to mention the benefits this program has on the environment around the school.”

Sam Rogers, the city’s commissioner of transportation and works, said the benefits of the program are countless.

“From physical and mental health gains to lowering greenhouse gas emissions in school zones, this program is helping create safer, healthier and more connected communities for everyone.”

Looking for more schools to take part in September

With the pilot opportunities concluded for this school year, the city will be seeking more schools to participate come September.

Rogers said the city is one of 25 communities across Canada participating in the extended School Streets initiative.

“Many of our school zones face temporary congestion during drop-off and pickup times, which presents traffic dangers, high concentrations of greenhouse gas emissions and lost opportunities for students to get physical activity and develop the skills needed to travel independently,” he said last June. “Implementing this School Streets pilot will be an innovative approach to help us create a space where students can feel more comfortable walking, cycling or rolling to and from school.”

The Mississauga School Streets pilot project is delivered in partnership with Green Communities Canada and funded by the Public Health Agency of Canada.

In 2022, the city took part in a School Streets pilot in Mississauga that involved three elementary schools for three weeks in May and June of that year.

That initiative proved successful, city officials said, prompting them to support Mississauga’s continued involvement in the pilot.

(Cover photo: City of Mississauga)


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