Investigating Access to Schools through Walking: A Study of Built School Road Networks

The scientific literature commonly states that walking to and from school can provide a regular source of physical activity for children and young people. Transport planners emphasise the importance of interventions in the road network to improve walking practices among this younger population. The Walking School Bus is an initiative that can have a positive impact on traffic management while simultaneously promoting physical health. It is a transportation service used by elementary school students to walk the home–school route accompanied by parent volunteers. It is a similar mode to the school bus in which there are several lines, each consisting of several stops, and each line is associated with a predetermined route that must go through all the stops and then arrive at the school. This paper aims to propose and implement a microsimulation traffic flow model leading to a local solution. The study has two primary purposes: (1) to evaluate the impact of Walking School Bus demands on traffic performance and (2) to examine the effect of different routes on traffic flow delay. Finally, after the implementation, the model will be applied to analyse the situation of an existing school, which will consider this mode of transport.