(Image Credit: CFJC Today File)

By Victor Kaisar

Safer School Streets

SD73 DPAC seeking feedback on proposed School Streets project in Kamloops

Feb 7, 2026 | 12:36 PM

KAMLOOPS — The Kamloops-Thompson School District (SD73) District Parent Advisory Council (DPAC) is looking for feedback into its plan to run a School Streets project at a local school.

DPAC has secured a $20,000 grant from Green Communities Canada and Chair Bonnie McBride says they’re now beginning to engage with parents and community partners interested in seeing the car-free initiative implemented at – or near – their local school.

“The project includes traffic calming, education, walking and biking incentives and temporary street closures to bring awareness to the value of active transportation for youth, the importance of good civic planning for neighbourhoods, driver awareness in high risk zones, and a general sense of community and health,” McBride said.

SD73 previously piloted a Safer School Streets project at Arthur Hatton Elementary in 2023. It featured vehicle-free zones around the school between 7:45 a.m. and 8:45 a.m. and between 2:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m., in an effort to encourage people to walk or bike their kids to school.

A survey of parents gave the initiative a passing grade, with 61 per cent voicing support for the program’s continuation. In 2024, pediatrician Dr. Trent Smith, who helped spearhead the initiative, said he had hoped to see it return to Kamloops.

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McBride says the SD73 DPAC will also reach out to schools to gauge their interest in hosting a School Streets project, either in the fall of this year or spring next year.

DPAC is hoping for at least one month with a full or partial street closure or for traffic calming measures, depending on feedback from the City of Kamloops’ traffic department.

“The city’s traffic department was a big part of the last one and we’ll have to coordinate again because it really depends on what construction is happening where and where the city is with those things,” McBride told CFJC. “It has to be a collaboration but they’re eager to be a part of it.”

While some schools have already indicated their interest in hosting a School Streets project, the location will ultimately be chosen based on things like support from the principal and staff as well as buy-in from parent volunteers.

The full report on the Safer School Streets pilot from 2023 can be found here.

Editors note: CFJC will have more on this story on Monday, Feb. 9.