PHU Works with Community Partners to Promote Active School Travel

Timmins, Ontario — Since 2021, the Porcupine Health Unit has been working with schools in the region to promote and improve the safety, sustainability, and efficiency of walking and wheeling to/from school through the Active School Travel initiative.

As a result of this initiative, the City of Timmins has taken an important step towards pedestrian safety by adding an additional crosswalk on Park Avenue at Champlain Street near École catholique St-Dominique. This crosswalk will help slow traffic and improve the safety and efficiency of active school journeys for children.

“There are so many benefits when children use active modes of transportation for their school journey (walk, bike, roll),” said Kaidan Hardy, Health Promoter at the PHU. Some of these benefits result from increased physical activity by the students who walk and wheel, and some occur because of the decrease in traffic around schools. The PHU aims to make walking and wheeling to/from school a safe, appealing, fun, and sustainable choice for families.

The Porcupine Health Unit is located in Northeastern Ontario, serving the entire Cochrane District and Hornepayne, in Algoma District. The main office is located in Timmins, Ontario, with branch offices in Cochrane, Hearst, Hornepayne, Iroquois Falls, Kapuskasing, Matheson, Moosonee and Smooth Rock Falls.