Members of New Westminster city council all agree the Walking School Bus program provides a “fantastic” service in the community, but they’re on different paths about how it should be funded.
Through the Walking School Bus program, supervised groups of students walk to and from school each day, stopping along the route to pick up or drop off kids. The program was developed to reduce congestion near schools and to improve kids’ health and wellness.
At its Aug. 26 meeting, council considered a motion from Coun. Daniel Fontaine that sought to provide longer-term funding for the Walking School Bus program, in support of the city’s goal of tackling climate change. The motion had three parts:
- Direct staff to work with the New Westminster District Parent Advisory Council (DPAC) to seek out opportunities to expand the Walking School Bus program to other neighbourhoods throughout New West.
- Staff incorporate consideration of “significantly increasing” the city’s support of the program into the 2025 budget, including the possibility of establishing three-year funding.
- Consider the city’s climate action reserve fund as the primary source of potential funding for the program’s expansion, in order to reduce the impact on taxpayers.
When a DPAC representative spoke to council about the program in June, Fontaine said he was struck by the positive impact it could have in reducing “traffic mayhem” around schools at pick-up and drop-off times, encouraging kids to be active and get outdoors, and getting vehicles off the road.
“Every student that we see in the Walking School Bus program is a student that potentially isn't in a car and isn't providing for traffic congestion on the roads around schools. So, this program does have a link to the city in our stated goals, in our big, bold objectives, to try to get vehicles off the roads,” he said. “It also has a direct impact on our climate; clearly, if you take cars off the road, you're going to reduce your carbon footprint. And it encourages people to leave those cars in their garages, or perhaps not purchase a car at all.”
Fontaine believes the city’s climate action reserve fund is an appropriate source of funding for the Walking School Bus program.
“If it were funded through that fund, it would not impact property taxpayers. We could provide some longer-term funding and stability for the program as well,” he said, adding the city could also contact partners like TransLink and the school district. “But this program, I think, does fall within our wheelhouse, and definitely is something that we could support.”
Coun. Nadine Nakagawa put forward an amendment to Fontaine’s motion. The amended motion (which was approved by council) recommended that staff:
- Continue to work with DPAC, the Society of Children and Youth of BC, TransLink, and the school district to seek out opportunities to expand the Walking School Bus program to other neighbourhoods throughout New Westminster. (The word “continue” was added to Fontaine’s motion, as was the inclusion of the Society of Children and Youth of B.C.)
- To reduce the impact to residential taxpayers regarding the expansion of this program, that the city’s climate action reserve fund’s decision-making framework be applied, and that the Society of Children and Youth of BC be directed toward the city grant application process, and that potential partnership funds be sought from the school district, TransLink, and/or senior governments before the city commit to long-term funding. (This removed references recommending the climate reserve fund be considered as a primary source of potential funding for the program, and emphasized the need to have other organizations fund the program and/or seek funding through the city’s grant process.)
Nakagawa’s amendment also eliminated the second part of Fontaine’s motion, which dealt with including funding for the program in the city’s budget.
Nakagawa said everyone on council was enthusiastic about the Walking School Bus program when DPAC officials raised it at the June 10 council meeting. Because the Society for Children and Youth of B.C. runs the program, not DPAC, she said the society should be engaged in discussions about expanding offerings in New West.
“Nothing in this motion actually points to that organization at all. So, it seems like a pretty notable exclusion to me,” she said. “It's also notable, if we know then that the Society for Children and Youth runs the program, that the city doesn't have a precedent of providing core operational funding to non-profit organizations outside of the regular granting process. This motion actually would be a major departure from that process and quite precedent setting. So, we need to be mindful of that when we're exploring how best to support this important program.”
Fontaine’s motion recommended the city’s climate action reserve fund be considered as a primary source of potential funding for the Walking School Bus program to reduce the initial impact on local taxpayers. But Nakagawa countered that if the City of New Westminster is trying to reduce the burden on taxpayers, it should seek out funding from senior governments and other potential partners before committing city funds to the program.
Coun. Ruby Campbell said she’s spoken with DPAC about the “fantastic” Walking School Bus program, who confirmed it had not applied for funds through the city’s grants process. She also spoke to representatives at the Society of Children and Youth of BC, who told her they have dealt with the District of North Vancouver on that community’s program and have worked with the district to apply for external funding.
“So, there are other avenues of funding that can potentially be explored first,” she said.
Fontaine supported amendments related to the addition of the Society of Children and Youth of BC. He opposed the removal of the part of his motion recommending the Walking School Bus be part of the city’s 2025 budget process, as he feels it’s important to get some clarity on longer-term funding for the program.
Fontaine also objected to removing references to considering the climate action reserve fund as a primary source of potential funding for the program.
“This fits really nicely within that fund,” he said. “It would be a great initiative for us to be supporting and demonstrating to the youth of our city that we're literally putting our money where our mouth is in terms of trying to reduce the usage of cars and vehicles in the city, in particular around schools during those high-congestion periods of morning and afternoon.”
What’s the climate action reserve fund?
The City of New Westminster established a climate action reserve fund (CARF) in 2022, based on a recognition that the cost of climate action is incrementally higher than business as usual, said a staff report.
“That reserve holds climate action related revenues (i.e. government grants, third-party contributions, climate action levy and low carbon fuel credit sales) which are required to be directed to initiatives which demonstrably advance the city’s ability to meet the climate emergency declaration targets,” said the report.
In 2023, the city hired KPMG to develop a climate action decision making framework (CADMF). Earlier this year, council endorsed that framework.
According to a March 4 report to council, the CARF was estimated to have had a balance of $41.9 million as of Dec. 31, 2023.
The report included a sample list of projects/initiatives that are in alignment with the city’s climate action plans, and which may meet the frameworks eligibility criteria.
Projects that could be included in the City of New Westminster’s 2024 to 2028 capital plan for use of climate action reserve plan funds include: corporate electric vehicles; EV charging infrastructure at civic buildings; civic building energy projects; climate changing resilience and adaptation; and a community and corporate EV charging strategy. Before receiving final approval, the city will ensure the projects and initiatives are in alignment with the framework that has been developed.
📣 Got an opinion on this story or any others in New Westminster? Send us a letter or email your thoughts or story tips to [email protected].
📲 Want to stay updated on New West news? Sign up for our free daily newsletter.
💬 Words missing in an article? Your adblocker might be preventing hyperlinked text from appearing.
