Safer routes help students start school year with confidence

With students heading back to classes and school loading zones about to get busier, The City of Calgary has completed safety upgrades at 50 schools in 2026 across the city to help make daily commutes safer for children and families. The upgrades include new pedestrian crossings, curb extensions, speed cushions and other traffic-calming measures designed to slow vehicles, improve visibility and reduce risk in areas where students are walking, wheeling and crossing the street. “These improvements are about creating safer, more comfortable routes for students and their families,” said Traffic Engineer Surendra Mishra. “Whether children are walking to school, riding a bike or arriving with their parents, every improvement helps reduce risk and increases awareness for everyone using the road.” The work includes proven safety improvement measures such as curb extensions and Rectangular Rapid Flashing Beacons (RRFB) at schools across Calgary. Curb extensions shorten crossing distances and make pedestrians more visible to approaching drivers. Studies have shown that curb extensions help to reduce collisions by 30-45 per cent. RRFBs improve drivers' yielding compliance to pedestrians result