Safe parking joins Calgary’s Travel Safe Student Video Contest

When students think about pedestrian safety, they often picture crosswalks, signals and looking both ways before stepping off the curb. This year, Calgary is inviting them to look a little wider—and a little closer to the curb.

For the first time, safe parking is being highlighted as part of the Pedestrian Safety category in the Travel Safe Student Video Contest, helping students explore how the way vehicles stop and park can directly affect the safety of people who walk, wheel or ride. 

Through the contest, students are encouraged to show good versus bad parking behaviours, interview crossing guards or use drawings, props and simple demonstrations to explain how safe parking helps protect people walking to school and through their communities.

“We’re excited to see how students bring this to life,” said Ramanpreet Gill, Patrol and Investigations Supervisor with Calgary Parking’s Parking Safety & Compliance team. “Kids notice things adults sometimes overlook—like how hard it is to see past a car parked too close to a corner or how double‑parking changes the whole flow of a street.”

By adding safe parking into their stories, students help connect everyday choices—where and how a vehicle stops—to real impacts on pedestrian safety.

Improper parking—particularly near schools—is one of the most common safety issues observed during peak travel times. Vehicles stopped in no‑stopping zones, bus zones or too close to intersections can block sightlines and force pedestrians into traffic.

“Safe parking is an essential part of pedestrian safety,” said Jacquelyn Oriold, an Education Specialist and Mobility Safety Program Lead with The City of Calgary. “When vehicles park too close to crosswalks, block corners or stop in the wrong places—especially around schools—it changes what people can see and predict. That can make crossing the street more dangerous for children, seniors and people using wheelchairs or walkers.”

“Pedestrian safety isn’t just about what people on foot do,” Jacquelyn added. “It depends on the actions of everyone sharing the road—drivers, cyclists and caregivers. Keeping crossings clear and predictable is a shared responsibility.”

The contest messaging reflects a broader City conversation around mobility safety: safer pedestrian environments depend on everyone doing their part.

Whether walking, driving or biking, safer streets rely on:

• Clear sightlines at crossings
• Predictable vehicle movements
• Respect for right‑of‑way
• Parking choices that don’t create hidden risks

“When drivers park legally and thoughtfully, they’re actively protecting people who travel on foot or with mobility devices,” Ramanpreet said. “That’s a powerful lesson for students—and for all of us.”

As a partner in safety, we are helping promote the contest where families and students already are. Our Parking Safety & Compliance Officers—who are regularly present in school zones—will be sharing contest flyers and information cards during patrols and at community touchpoints.

Officers will also help spread the word at upcoming Coffee with a Parking Officer events and other community engagement opportunities from now until the contest deadline on April 15, 2026

“Our officers are in schools every day, talking with parents and caregivers about safety,” Ramanpreet added. “This is a natural extension of that work—supporting education, creativity and student voices.”

Calgary Parking will also be hosting a booth at the Travel Safe Student Video Contest Screening Event Night on Monday, April 27, 2026.

“We’re really looking forward to meeting the students and families who took part,” Raman said. “It’s a chance to celebrate their creativity and talk about how parking safety plays a role in building safer, more caring communities.”

By bringing safe parking into the pedestrian safety conversation, the Travel Safe Student Video Contest is helping young Calgarians tell a bigger story—one where safer streets are built through everyday choices, shared responsibility and care for one another.

And it starts with something simple: where we park and how that choice affects the people around us. For more information, visit calgaryparking.com/schoolpatrol