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HomeMy WebLinkAboutINS-14-018 - School Pedestrian Safety Jean Steckle Public SchoolA, Staff Rep►�r Infrastructure 5erv! Department REPORT TO: Council DATE OF MEETING: March 3, 2014 wvmkitrhener ra SUBMITTED BY: Justin Readman, Director, Transportation Services PREPARED BY: Ronald Schirm, Supervisor of Crossing Guard WARD(S) INVOLVED: Ward 5 DATE OF REPORT: February 19, 2014 REPORT NO.: INS -14 -018 SUBJECT: School Pedestrian Safety Jean Steckle Public School RECOMMENDATION: That the Adult Crossing Guard Facility located on Huron Road at Featherstone Street be relocated to Woodbine Avenue at Seabrook Drive. BACKGROUND: The Waterloo Region District School Board opened Jean Steckle Public School on Woodbine Avenue in Ward 5 in September 2013. The school is a kindergarten to grade 7 school for the 2013 -14 School Year and expanding to include grade 8 in the subsequent School Year. The school has an in ground capacity of 643 students. Enrolment for September 2013 is projected at 490 students. Enrolment is expected to increase with continued development in the area. Woodbine Avenue is classified as a major collector roadway intended to carry traffic to and through the surrounding neighbourhood. At this point in time Woodbine Avenue is a cul de sac west of Parkvale Avenue. Seabrook Drive is located opposite the school and ends at Woodbine Avenue. Seabrook Drive is also classified as a major collector roadway and carries traffic in the neighbourhood to and from Fisher Hallman Road. The intersection of Woodbine Avenue and Seabrook Drive features one stop control on Seabrook Drive. No Stopping Anytime signs have been installed along the school frontage on Woodbine Avenue and No Stopping 8:00 A.M. to 4:30 P.M. signs are also installed opposite the school frontage on Woodbine Avenue as per the general provisions of the Uniform Traffic Bylaw. An adult crossing guard facility was approved in report INS -13 -066 and established on Huron Road at Featherstone Street/Cranshaw Street. This facility was installed to serve students who live within the catchment area of the school, east of Huron Road and are not eligible for busing. Use of this facility has been monitored since December 2013. No students cross at this location in the morning and only two students occasionally use the facility after school. C =I REPORT: A traffic count was conducted in December 2013 to determine if an all -way stop is warranted at the intersection of Seabrook Drive and Woodbine Avenue. An all -way stop is not warranted at this location at this time. Traffic volumes on both Woodbine Avenue and Seabrook Drive are not reflective of collector roads at present. Volumes on both roadways are only expected to increase significantly as the subdivision is built out. Annual Average Daily Traffic Woodbine Avenue at Seabrook Drive December 4, 2013 Intersection Leg Annual Average Daily Traffic Volume West 1712 East 1886 South 2667 Pedestrian visibility of vehicles is adequate at the location in question. Driver Site Stopping Distance, that is, the distance a driver needs to be able to see a crossing pedestrian, react and come to a full stop at the speed limit is adequate. Cars can see pedestrians from a distance of 100 metres when travelling west. The Driver Site Stopping Distance when travelling east is from where Woodbine Avenue ends, or 130 metres from the proposed school crossing. The minimum required Driver Site Stopping Distance at 50 km /h is 63 metres. This is therefore not an issue. Woodbine Avenue is 11 metres wide at Seabrook Drive and an adequate gap in traffic as per the adult crossing guard warrant is 14 seconds. There are sidewalks on all sides of all roadways in the area. Staff conducted several gap studies on Woodbine Avenue in the fall of 2013 as well as February 2014. When the school first opened an adult crossing guard was not warranted. A significant increase in through traffic in December 2013 and verified again in February 2014 has warranted an adult crossing guard. The most effective use of resources is to move the unused facility on Huron Road at Featherstone Street to Woodbine Avenue at Seabrook Drive. The school crossing will be located at the east and south legs of the intersection. If there is significant interest from families living east of Huron Road in re- establishing this facility staff would investigate this. Crossing Guard Duty times will extend beyond the morning bell time at the request of the school. These duty times will be circulated to the school community upon approval. Jean Steckle Public School Bell Times Crossing Guard Duty Times Woodbine Avenue & Seabrook Drive School Bell Time Crossing Guard Duty Times 8:30 A.M. 8:00 A.M. - 8:40 A.M. 2:50 P.M. 2:45 P.M. — 3:15 P.M. 4 -2 As per discussions with school officials, the facility move will coincide with March Break. The final day for operations on Huron Road at Featherstone Street will be Friday March 7. The first day for operations on Woodbine Avenue and Seabrook Drive will be Monday March 17, the first day back for students following March Break. ALIGNMENT WITH CITY OF KITCHENER STRATEGIC PLAN: This initiative falls under the Community Priority of Quality of Life. "Work with partners, including all orders of government, to create a culture of safety in our community." FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS: The cost of relocating the school crossing signs from Huron Road to Woodbine Avenue and Seabrook Drive would be approximately $1000 and would be drawn from the existing sign maintenance budget. There would be no additional cost implications on the crossing guard operational budget. COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT: Staff has been working with staff at Jean Steckle School, the Waterloo Region District School Board and the School Transportation Services of Waterloo Region in determining and implementing the most effective facilities for school pedestrian safety. The school has informed the school community of the impending changes, subject to Council Approval. Transportation Services will be providing Jean Steckle Public School with an updated electronic version of the 2013 School Route Map for the school which will include identifying the location of the adult crossing guard facility on Woodbine Avenue at Seabrook Drive, including Crossing Guard Duty Times, as well as other information regarding Active Transportation and parking around the school. ACKNOWLEDGED BY: Pauline Houston, Deputy CAO Infrastructure Services Department 4 -3 Appendix A Jean Steckle Public School CSI