Inspiring parking safety superstars at Safety Expo 2025

Students in Grade 5 and Grade 6 converged at the Calgary Municipal Complex for the annual Safety Expo, presented by ENMAX, on March 12-13, 2025. This year's theme, "Community Champions," honoured community helpers and collaboration to keep safe at home, school and play.

Our Parking Safety and Compliance team was excited to get involved and eager to spread awareness and information about how being mindful in parking can support a safer, more efficient city. Through a parking safety superstar booklet and a series of interactive conversations on decoding common parking signs by breaking down the symbols and colours, the students learned easy ways to help keep their schools safe and encourage their parents to become parking safety stars.

"For us, we put education above enforcement. Our main goal is to empower these young Community Champions to become advocates for parking safety in their families and communities," Mysty, a Patrol and Investigations Supervisor, said while speaking about our participation at the Safety Expo this year. " Educating them leads to a ripple effect, where they share their experiences with their families, encouraging public dialogue and widespread awareness and education," she added.

Students at our booth participated in engaging, hands-on activities that made learning about parking safety fun and memorable! A giant play mat re-created real-world parking situations, letting students maneuver miniature cars through schools, neighbourhoods and city streets. Using this interactive approach helped the kids learn how parking signs and rules enhance public safety, maintain traffic flow and uphold community standards.

While kids count on adults to keep them safe, there is a growing need to educate these young minds about parking safety around schools, especially after a child sustained serious, non-life-threatening injuries after being struck by a vehicle outside a school in southwest Calgary last month.

"The 2025 Safety Expo, presented by ENMAX, welcomed over 6,000 Grade 5 and 6 students and 1,000 accompanying teachers and chaperones to the Calgary Municipal Complex on March 12 and 13. This year’s theme, Community Champions, celebrated the role of community helpers and the importance of working together to keep our city safe,” Afshan Nazir, 2025 Safety Expo Lead shared while commenting on the successful event.

Nazir added “We were pleased to have Calgary Parking participate and share their expertise on parking safety and accessibility. Their contribution helped students better understand how everyday actions—like obeying parking signs—support safer streets and more accessible spaces for everyone in our community,"

 In looking back at this year's event, we were encouraged by the excitement and inquisitiveness of the students. The desire to learn and share strengthens our commitment that engagement in the community is the first step towards a safer, more connected Calgary.

We sincerely thank the organizers, educators and students for making the Safety Expo 2025 what it was! Thank you for joining us on the journey toward building a community where safety is prioritized over convenience and everyone can be a parking safety star.

Learn more today by visiting Safe parking around schools.