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Kiss 'N Ride

Kiss 'N Ride is a traffic calming initiative that will empower parents and the entire
school community as they strive to keep all children safe


What is the Kiss ‘N Ride Program?

The Kiss ‘N Ride Program is a convenient, safe and efficient procedure for dropping off children at school in the morning, and for picking up children from school in the afternoon. Each participating vehicle with follow a designated Kiss 'N Ride route to the drop off/pick up zone.  The vehicle will come to a complete stop in a designated area.  A school staff member or volunteer will greet each vehicle, help children out of the vehicle and direct children into the school or playground.  Kiss 'N Ride is so effective because it separates vehicular traffic from school bus traffic to reduce traffic congestion and give motorists a structured route  to follow and improved traffic flow.

Fort Frances Traffic Safety Committee

Fort Frances Traffic Safety Committee - winner of the 2013 MTO Road Safety Partnership Award

Before Kiss 'N Ride.....at Robert Moore School (Crowe Avenue)

After ....Kiss 'N Ride implemented at Robert Moore School

Before Kiss 'N Ride... at JW Walker School

After....Kiss 'N Ride now implemented at JW Walker School

Kiss 'N Ride - learning from experience

In  helping other communities considering implementing Kiss 'N Ride, here are a few things to consider:

Partnerships - Community Mobilization

- In order to ensure efficiency in time and cost, be sure to include those agencies required for policy change, legislation change, planning/construction and those potentially impacted by changes to municipal planning.  Some suggestions for partnerships include school boards/Director of Education/facility and operations manager, school administration, school transportation consortium, busing companies, police, by-law officials, town representatives including public works/operations and planning/policy change officials, safety coalitions, traffic safety committees, volunteer groups, parent councils, representation of residents in area of school, traffic rule experts from Ministry of Transportation and media.

- Be sure to collaborate with stakeholders/traffic flow experts to determine best routes, best practices and options for separating vehicular traffic and busing  while taking into consideration pedestrian/cyclists routes.  (We worked with our North West Region MTO Road Safety Program as an expert resource). 

- Physically test the bus routes with busing companies...actually ride the buses!  This process helps the planning committee anticipate any traffic challenge faced by drivers through the new proposed routes and anticipate required changes (signage, snow removal, parking issues, by-laws, etc)

- There is a likelihood that some capital costs may be incurred.  We found success when school board officials, administration and town officials came to the table to share their input.  Together, they were able to investigate ways on which stakeholders can work together to lower costs and increase efficiencies (paving, cement, amalgamate projects, etc)

Public Education

- We found it was important to keep the community updated regularly.  Timely information helped to quell rumours.  Policy change impacting so many aspects of the community has the potential of becoming political so regular community updates help keep the focus on student safety!  We utilized local media to help explain the rationale behind the changes. 

- We suggest asking for feedback from residents directly within a one block radius of the school.  These residents witness the safety concerns around schools on a daily basis.  Seeking input prior to making changes is inclusive to the planning process but it helps to ensure residents feel a valued part of the process.   

- Once our project was ready for implementation, we held two public education meetings to explain the concept of Kiss 'N Ride and necessary changes.  It gave potential users an opportunity to ask questions and alleviate concerns.  We also received some great ideas to enhance the plans. A Powerpoint presentation with handouts outlined the concept of Kiss 'N Ride as well as the new traffic routes (see images below). 

- We chose to begin our program at the beginning of a new school year.  As part of our awareness campaign, we began to stream information out to our school community through school newsletters at the end of the preceding school year, in June with report cards.   The two month advance notice gave parents time to read about the program, understand and anticipate the coming changes for the new school year.

- Our media awareness campaign went into full swing beginning August 1st.  It gave us one full month prior to the actual Kiss 'N Ride implementation in September (radio, newspaper, etc).  Our media partners were well aware of the process because they were involved from the start.  Our media partners were also parents and potential users so they had a vested interest in the project.  Each week leading up to the launch, media help create awareness and excitement.  The public were directed to the the school board websites for additional information.

- School board websites were utilized as points of access for information; throughout the year we use school newsletters for parent updates or for addressing concerns as they arose.  We also uploaded before and after photos to demonstrate the effectiveness of the program. 

Example of Kiss 'N Ride Procedure included in media awareness campaign

ProcedureDrop-OffPick-Up

1. Drive slowly into Kiss ‘N Ride lane
2. Stop vehicle (30 – 45 seconds)
3. Parent stays in vehicle with vehicle running
4. Teacher on duty will open door for child
5. Parent drives off once child has exited vehicle

1. Drive slowly into Kiss ‘N Ride lane (if you do not see your child, keep moving and loop back)
2. Stop vehicle
3. Parent stays in vehicle with vehicle running
4. Child gets in vehicle
5. Door closes and parent drives off

Enforcement

- Consulting with law enforcement officials (police and by-law) during the planning process proved helpful in determining what laws/tools would assist officers response to traffic complaints and traffic safety concerns.  We found the following by-laws most influential in supporting Kiss 'N Ride:  no stopping, no parking, no U-turns, towing capabilities, implementing new intersection controls - for example: new four-way stop signs.  For our program, by-law officers were able to help in a number of ways.  They worked to amend and prepare by-law changes for Town Council and the approving committees.  They could liaise with municipal departments and keep them informed of project progress.  As a result, the approval process was more efficient and timely because the differently municipal departments and our working group could anticipate next steps and what documentation was required at both ends.  Even more noteworthy, the communication between project partners also helped build the working relationships and communication between the school boards and the municipality for additional projects.  

- Implementing traffic congestion resolutions require behaviour change and not everyone responds to change at the same pace!  Our team was patient and provide support with team resources.  The OPP school resource officer and by-law officials worked with school administration to refer parents to school administration to alleviate concerns or find solutions.  Most often, the team would spend extra time to offer education and support in lieu of enforcement resulting in success. 


- Our working group used a two week implementation phase.  During this phase, police officers and by-law worked together with volunteers from our Seniors and Law Enforcement Together Committee (SALT - www.ffsalt.com).  Together, law enforcement and SALT were visible throughout the new traffic routes to offer encouragement and direction to motorists if need be.  During the first two weeks, the police focus was strictly education, maps and information would be distributed to motorists if required.  Enforcement did not officially begin until after a full two weeks of the program were complete.  At the two week mark, a media release and school newsletters were issued to advise motorists of the transition to enforcement in response to traffic violations around the schools.  

Other Considerations

Our working group made the following adjustments to ensure Kiss 'N Ride was a success.  We've included them to help other communities consider them as a possibility;

- drop sidewalks curbs to increase accessibility, build new sidewalks to encourage pedestrians to stay off roadways (avoid walking on snowbank in the winter) and guide the students on a safe route to and from school

- speak to municipality/public works and school boards to ensure snow removal is a priority around school zones and ensure removal times don't interfere with school drop off and pick up times.  We also identified the point of contact to respond to complaints or concerns

- florescent vests/winter parkas for school staff provided visibility and comfort for those working at Kiss 'N Ride areas - sometimes grants or community safety coalitions have funds for such things 

- pylons and signage to indicate Kiss 'N Ride routes/drop off/pick up points.  This equipment identifies when Kiss 'N Ride lanes are open/closed

- signage for Kiss 'N Ride during implementation phase to inform new users of route and expectations - the school board produced small chloroplast arrow signs to help motorist become familiar with new Kiss 'N Ride routes (this also helped vehicle use the correct route - which also helps them stay away from bus routes)

- we utilized our Seniors and Law Enforcement Together (SALT) committee as volunteers during the two week implementation phase.  Our seniors helped us by locating themselves at various points throughout the Kiss 'N Ride vehicle routes to offer information to motorists.  They were our eyes and ears on the ground, made observations and offered feedback for the working group to address issues.  Seniors are a valuable resource in communities with energies to devote and we feel it was great to add an inter-generational component to our program.  It was great to see seniors out helping with a program that supports kids and their families.  We bought them high visibility vests with "SALT" embroidered on them!   

- during the implementation phase, we encourage debriefing with volunteers and working group to immediately address any issues that arise (traffic flow concerns, traffic law violations, correcting driver behaviour, etc)

- for dismissal time, set your Kiss 'N Ride lane openings for at least five minutes after the dismissal bell.  That way students have enough time to get their jackets/snowsuits on and parents are not waiting in line prematurely and technically "stopped" on the roadway.  It helps to keep the line moving and from vehicles blocking driveways or intersections if parents are pressed to start lining up ONLY at the time the Kiss 'N Ride lane is scheduled to open.  Before Kiss 'N Ride was implemented, parent used to line up a half hour before school dismissal!  This was to get a good parking/stopping spot.  Changing this behaviour was one of the most challenging but law enforcement and schools continue to work with parents with messaging. 

Feedback

- we worked with the Northwestern Health Unit to help us conduct an evaluation of the program.  The survey was specific to the users of Kiss 'N Ride to determine the effectiveness of the program.  The schools distributed a hardcopy version available to go home with students and the Kiss 'N Ride helpers would accept the surveys back upon completion.  We made hardcopy surveys available through local agencies around our community and provided an electronic version available through the School Board website.  Our media covered the story through newspaper and radio.  Our schools used their new SynerVoice system to offer a parents a telephone survey option. 

- feedback survey results indicate success and will be posted on the school board website and forwarded to our community through the local media pending approval at our 2014 Fall meeting

We believe that our Kiss 'N Ride Program has made our community safer.  Just check out the before and after pictures and you will see how the congestion around our schools is gone.  We usually have up to 60 vehicles in our line up.  Our Kiss 'N Ride is so efficient that once students are dismissed, the Kiss 'N Ride line lasts no longer than 10 - 15 minutes and the entire school is emptied out!(and that is on the coldest of winter days when the majority of parents are picking up their children!)  That's less time than some drivers will spend going through a drive thru for coffee!

We are pleased to offer information to other communities and agencies.  If you require information, please complete the 'Contact Us' section of this website.  Be sure to include your name, email and phone number.