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HomeMy WebLinkAboutDTS-10-078 - School Traffic Safety Service Changes for 2010-2011 School Year REPORT REPORT TO: Development and Technical Services Committee DATE OF MEETING: June 7, 2010 SUBMITTED BY: John McBride PREPARED BY: Ronald Schirm WARD(S) INVOLVED: ALL DATE OF REPORT: April 7, 2010 REPORT NO.: DTS-10-078 SUBJECT: SCHOOL TRAFFIC SAFETY SERVICE CHANGES FOR THE 2010 - 2011 SCHOOL YEAR RECOMMENDATIONS: That the Crossing Guard Facility on River Road east of Rosemount Avenue be relocated to Frederick Street at East Avenue, and further, That the Crossing Guard Facility at Fairfield Avenue and Margaret Avenue be relocated to Fairway Road at Lackner Boulevard. BACKGROUND: Prior to the end of each School Year Transportation Planning staff review school traffic safety issues and possible service changes for the upcoming School Year. The Waterloo Catholic District School Board is making significant changes with their schools and school boundaries. A new school, Pope John Paul II Separate School opens and both Notre Dame Separate School and St. Patrick Separate School will close permanently on June 30, 2010. St. John Separate School will close temporarily on June 30 for the 2010-2011 School Year as the school site and buildings are renovated. All students attending St. John Separate School will be bussed to Monsignor Gleason Separate School for the 2010-2011 School Year. With these closures the school boundaries for St. Paul Separate School, St. Mark Separate School, Canadian Martyrs Separate School and St. Daniel Separate School all change. Further to this the Waterloo District School Board has recently announced changes to their school transportation criteria, aligning it with the criteria of the Waterloo Catholic District School Board. Both School Boards are also addressing “courtesy bussing” issues with regards to the new bussing criteria. REPORT: I. Pope John Paul II Separate School The Waterloo Catholic District School Board is opening a Junior Kindergarten to Grade 8 elementary school on Pebblecreek Drive in the Chicopee-Grand River Ward for the 2010 – 2011 School Year with an anticipated enrolment of at least 400. The school’s catchment area includes the area south of Lackner Boulevard on both sides of Fairway Road. The more than 90 students attending Pope John Paul II Separate School living in this area will need to cross both Fairway Road and Lackner Boulevard in order to access the sidewalk that is located on the east side of Fairway Road from Lackner Boulevard to Pebblecreek Drive. The location in question is located about 900 metres from the school. Both Fairway Road and Lackner Boulevard are Regional arterial roadways. The east leg of the intersection is Fairway Crescent, a local roadway. The intersection at this point in time features an all-way stop. Traffic patterns for the north leg of the intersection are at this time less than typical for an arterial roadway; however with development in the area this is likely to change over the next several years. The predominant movement at the intersection is right from eastbound Lackner Boulevard onto southbound Fairway Road and conversely left from northbound Fairway Road onto westbound Lackner Boulevard. The pedestrian crossing distance is at least 20 metres, depending on the leg of the intersection. This intersection features large turning radii at all corners and a channelized right turn lane on the north leg of the intersection. At this time there is a sidewalk located on the east side of Fairway Road from Lackner Boulevard to Pebblecreek Drive. Sidewalks on Pebblecreek Drive and Upper Mercer Street do not at this time extend to Fairway Road. The developer has been contacted and has agreed to make the completion of these segments of sidewalk a priority for installation prior to September 1. Annual Average Daily Traffic Fairway Road at Lackner Boulevard/Fairway Crescent December 15, 2008 Leg of Intersection Annual Average Daily Pedestrian Crossing Traffic Distance North 3243 21 metres South 7196 20 metres East 1629 23 metres West 6271 20 metres The intersection of Fairway Road and Pebblecreek Drive will be studied with respect to the possible installation of an adult crossing guard facility within the first two weeks of the new School Year. It is anticipated that traffic generated by the school itself will have an impact on vehicular traffic at this intersection. Likewise, directly in front of the school, the intersection of Venturin Street and Pebblecreek Drive will be studied for the possible installation of a student safety patrol assisted school crossing early in the new School Year as well. However, due to the road classification, the width of the roadway and finally the volume and nature of the traffic an adult crossing guard is warranted at the intersection at Fairway Road and Lackner Boulevard and it is recommended that this facility be installed at the start of the new School Year. The facility will be monitored for usage during the upcoming School Year. II. Waterloo Catholic District School Board closures The Waterloo Catholic District School Board is closing several schools in the next two years and with the closures there will be boundary changes to several neighbouring schools. Notre Dame School, located on Rosemount Avenue in the Bridgeport-Centre Ward will close June 30, 2010. There is one adult crossing guard facility that serves that school exclusively located on River Road between Rosemount Avenue and Islington Avenue. This location will become redundant with the closure of the school. The adult crossing guard facility on Krug Street at Sherwood Avenue, which serves both Notre Dame Separate School and Smithson Public School, located on Sherwood Avenue, will be reviewed for usage at the start of the new School Year. St. Patrick Separate School located on Grulke Street in the Chicopee - Grand River Ward will also close permanently on June 30, 2010. At present there are no adult crossing guard facilities that serve this school exclusively. St. John Separate School, located on Strange Street in the West – Victoria Park Ward will close for one year as of June 30, 2010 for extensive renovations to both the building and the property. All students normally attending St. John Separate School in September 2010 will attend Monsignor William Gleason School, located on Westwood Drive, also located in the West – Victoria Park Ward. All the affected students will be bussed; therefore no additional adult crossing guard services will be required. There is no adult crossing guard facility that serves St. John Separate School exclusively at this time, however, the location at Victoria Street and Patricia Avenue serves both St. John Separate School and J.F. Carmichael Public School. It is anticipated that there will be sufficient demand to warrant its continuation throughout the temporary closure. There is a school bus loading zone on Westwood Drive in front of Monsignor William Gleason Separate School large enough to accommodate 5 school busses which will suffice for the demand created by the bussed St. John Separate School students. Monsignor William Gleason Separate School is scheduled to close permanently on June 30, 2011. There are no adult crossing guard services that serve this school exclusively and no changes are anticipated with this closure. Any further impact of the closure of Monsignor William Gleason Separate School and the resulting re-alignment of neighbouring school boundaries will be addressed in the School Traffic Safety Services Changes Report for the 2011-2012 School Year. III. School Transportation Criteria Changes The Waterloo District School Board has recently made changes to the distance criteria for eligibility for school transportation. School Transportation Eligibility Criteria Waterloo District School Board (W.D.S.B) Waterloo District Catholic School Board (W.C.D.S.B.) Ages W.D.S.B. – present W.D.S.B. – As of September 1 W.C.D.S.B. 0.8 km Junior Kindergarten – 1.6 km 0.8 km Senior Kindergarten Grades 1 – 3 1.6 km 1.6 km 1.6 km 1.6 km Grades 4 – 6 2 km 1.6 km 1.6 km Grades 7-8 3.5 km 1.6 km 3.2 km Grades 9 - 12 4.8 km 3.2 km BOLD N.B. Changes are marked in A review of the impact of the changes in terms of adult crossing guard services has revealed that the adult crossing guard location on Margaret Avenue at Fairfield Avenue, located in the Bridgeport – Centre Ward, will see a dramatic decrease in demand for the 2010 – 2011 School Year. At present approximately 15 – 20 children who attend either Prueter Public School, located on Prueter Avenue, or St. Teresa Separate School, located on Edwin Street, use the facility at least once daily. The facility operates from 8:15 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. and 3:20 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. daily. The facility is 0.8 km away from St. Teresa Separate School and 0.75 km away from Prueter Public School. Because of this distance the demand is anticipated to be only 4 students in September 2010. Margaret Avenue is a major collector road that carries about 5500 vehicles per day, when using the Annual Average Daily Traffic (A.A.D.T.) factor. This volume is well within the volume range for a major collector roadway. Further to this a pedestrian refuge island was installed on Margaret Avenue between Fairfield Avenue and the Breithaupt Center a number of years ago. This facility is located 29 metres west of the adult crossing guard facility at Fairfield Avenue. This facility greatly increases the safety for crossing pedestrians in that pedestrians only need to cross one leg of the road at a time and the crossing distance to the island is about 5.25 metres from either side. A gap study conducted the week of April 6-8, 2010 reveals that adequate gaps in traffic exist during morning and after school travel times and that a crossing guard or a student safety patrol are not warranted at the pedestrian refuge island and any students needing to cross Margaret Avenue can safely and conveniently do so at this location without any assistance. With the presence of the pedestrian refuge island and the low anticipated demand for crossing guard services at this location it is recommended that the facility be removed at the end of the 2009-2010 School Year and be relocated. With the changes in the school transportation criteria a review of “courtesy bussing,” that is, bussing that is provided to students in spite of not meeting the school transportation criteria, has been undertaken by school transportation staff at both School Boards. This review revealed that a portion of students attending St. Anne Separate School on East Avenue in the Bridgeport – Centre Ward are being bussed even though they live close enough to the school to walk. Students who attend St. Anne Separate School and live in the neighbourhood bounded by Frederick Street, Edna Street, Victoria Street and Lancaster Street live within easy walking distance to the school but have been bussed. With the provision of adequate crossing facilities across Frederick Street at East Avenue bussing would be discontinued. Frederick Street is a 2 lane, Regional arterial roadway that carries in excess of 11,000 vehicles per day. The intersection features a dedicated left turn lane in the north leg. Annual Average Daily Traffic Frederick Street at East Avenue February 27, 2008 Leg of Intersection Annual Average Daily Pedestrian Crossing Traffic Distance North 11,455 13.5 metres South 11,193 13.5 metres East 2186 21 metres West N/A N/A The Region of Waterloo is currently planning a reconstruction of Frederick Street from highway 86 to Lancaster Street. This construction is scheduled to take place in 2012. The preferred design at this point in time includes a pedestrian refuge island in the south leg of the intersection in question. The adult crossing guard will cross children across the south and east legs of the intersection, ultimately utilizing the planned pedestrian refuge island. Due to the road classification, the volume and nature of traffic and the lack of adequate gaps in terms of school pedestrian crossing an adult crossing guard is warranted at this location and will allow the Waterloo Catholic District School Board to remove courtesy bussing for about 30 students attending St. Anne Separate School. At this time there are no further changes anticipated with regards to the change in school boundaries accompanying the permanent school closures, however, Transportation Planning staff will work co-operatively with planning and transportation staff from both school boards to address any issues that arise following the commencement of the New School Year. FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS: There is no anticipated cost with the relocation of the adult crossing guard facility from Margaret Avenue at Fairfield Avenue to Fairway Road at Lackner Boulevard. Because the intersection of Fairway Road at Lackner Boulevard is an all-way stop no school crossing signs are installed. Also, due to the distance from the school, the adult crossing guard facility will operate morning and after school only with no lunch hour service, the same as is provided at present at the Margaret Avenue at Fairfield Avenue location, there will be no additional costs in the Operating Budget. At the intersection of Frederick Street at East Avenue, The Region of Waterloo will be requested to install the school crossing, including signs and crosswalk lines. The $500 cost for this will be covered by the Region of Waterloo. A concrete pad will need to be installed on the southwest corner of the intersection. This $750 cost will be drawn from the sidewalk installation account. As the bell times for St. Anne’s Separate School and Notre Dame Separate School are identical and that no lunch time service demand is anticipated, crossing guard duty times and the subsequent cost of operating the facility will be identical to the cost now and no additional funds will be required from the Operating Budget. COMMUNICATIONS: Transportation Planning has already been in contact with the Student Transportation Services of Waterloo Region to coordinate the proposed changes and will advise the outcome of this report. Similarly, Transportation Planning staff have met with officials from Pope John Paul II Separate School, who are in agreement with the approach outlined in this report in regards to school traffic safety and will be advised the outcome of this report. The School Route Maps that are distributed annually to all elementary school aged children in the City will include all the proposed changes and inserts will be included for students attending schools affected by the crossing guard facility relocations. CONCLUSION: Transportation Planning has enjoyed a very effective and mutually co-operative partnership with planning and transportation staff at both the Waterloo District School Board and the Waterloo Catholic District School Board. With this partnership we have been able to provide effectual, cost effective and safe facilities for school children of all ages attending the elementary, senior and secondary schools in the City. Transportation Planning staff is confident that the changes and recommendations contained within this report continue in this tradition and will aid to improve service and pedestrian accessibility for the affected schools and families. ACKNOWLEDGED BY: Jeff Willmer, Interim General Manager, Development and Technical Services Department Schedule “A” DTS Report 10-078 School Traffic Services Changes For the 2010 - 2011 School Year Pope John Paul II Separate School Venturin Street & Pope John Paul II Pebblecreek Drive Separate School Study Location Fairway Road & Pebblecreek Drive Study Location Proposed Crossing Guard Location Schedule “B” DTS Report 10-078 School Traffic Services Changes For the 2010 - 2011 School Year Notre Dame Separate School Crossing Guard Facility to be removed Schedule “C” DTS Report 10-078 School Traffic Services Changes For the 2010 - 2011 School Year Margaret Avenue & Fairfield Avenue Crossing Guard Facility to be removed Pedestrian Refuge Island Schedule “”D DTS Report 10-078 School Traffic Services Changes For the 2010 - 2011 School Year Frederick Street & East Avenue Affected Catchment Area Location of Proposed Crossing Guard Facility