The City of Edmundston launches its first new safe routes to school

Sep 15, 2026

A new initiative of safe routes to school  was presented at Tuesday’s public City Council meeting, an initiative designed to make walking and cycling to school safer and easier for children. Six new safe school routes will be built, serving Saint Mary's Academy, Carrefour de la Jeunesse, École régionale de Saint-Basile, École Notre-Dame, École Saint-Jacques and École Mgr-Mathieu-Mazerolle.

A safe route to school is a designated route to school where the street has been adapted so children can walk or bike safely. Families keep the freedom to choose how they get to school, but now have a clearly marked, safer option for getting there under their own power. The idea is part of a broader movement. Born in Italy in the 1990s, safe school streets and corridors first appeared in Canada in Toronto in 2019, then spread across Québec and other parts of the country starting in 2021. A national initiative launched in 2024 is now extending these projects into six provinces.

“How we get around has shifted over the years, and not necessarily because children or parents wanted it that way. Often, it's the environment around them that changed. School corridors give us a concrete way to change that environment back, one neighbourhood at a time,” said Pascal Hudon, urban planner with the City of Edmundston.

The project follows a step-by-step approach built on three principles: test certain measures on a temporary basis, measure the resulting change in travel patterns, safety and community feedback, then adjust, keep or rework each intervention based on what the data shows. About twenty installations are planned for 2026, roughly three of them permanent; the rest (speed humps, raised crosswalks, stop signs, updated signage and temporary centre islands) will go in on a trial basis while their impact is assessed.

The first safe route to school will be implemented at the École régionale de Saint-Basile, where it will be in place as early as this fall. Its experience will guide the rollout in other areas. Its official launch will take place on October 7, 2026, during a public event titled “I Ride, I Walk to School.” It should be noted that the other schools will also see new improvements this fall and next spring.

The two-year project, (rollout in 2026, consolidation in 2027) is made possible by a $125,000 grant from the Federation of Canadian Municipalities' Green Municipal Fund, matched by an equal investment from the City. Student safety remains the driving reason behind the initiative, which is also expected to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The project has the backing of a wide range of partners, including the District scolaire francophone du Nord-Ouest, the Anglophone West School District, school administrations and parent committees. The City notes that its success depends on everyone doing their part: families are encouraged to try the corridors and use drop-off points where it makes sense, residents to familiarize themselves with the new measures and flag any concerns, and drivers to slow down and follow the posted signage near schools.

A first public report will follow once data on usage, safety and community perception has been gathered, including a family survey planned for fall 2026 and repeated in 2027. 

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CONTACT: Pascal Hudon, Urban Planner, 506.737.6900