Kicking off the new year in a bold way, Ontario's newest elementary school has been designated "walking only." It is apparently the first school in Canada to adopt such a policy.

From the Toronto Star:

P.L. Robertson elementary in Milton, which opened this week, has been designated a "walking-only school," where students will be strongly encouraged to use their feet – or bikes or any other active way – to get there.

It is part of a broader initiative at the Halton District School Board to stop traffic jams around schools and get students moving.

School Transportation News reports:

P.L. Robertson, located about 20 miles southwest of Toronto, requires students who live 1.6 km from campus, or about 1 mile, to get to school on their own, often via the school's walking school bus or bike train. That equates to nearly all students except for a handful who are eligible for the yellow school bus because they live farther than 1.6 km or who attend a French immersion dual track school that is located outside of the school district's boundaries. The program is run in collaboration with a local school transportation consortium that also administers school busing in the province and with local traffic engineers and law enforcement.