HomeMy WebLinkAboutINS-15-060 - Adult Crossing Guard Facililty Changes for 2015-2016 School Year Staff Rport
I r rc'.�► t .R Infrastructure Services Department wmkitchener.ca
REPORT TO: Community and Infrastructure Services Committee
DATE OF MEETING: August 10, 2015
SUBMITTED BY: Justin Readman, Director of Transportation Services,
519-741-2200, extension 7038
PREPARED BY: Ronald Schirm, Supervisor of Crossing Guards
519-741-2200, extension 7232
WARD(S) INVOLVED: Wards 2 & 5
DATE OF REPORT: Wednesday, July 08, 15
REPORT NO.: INS-15-060
SUBJECT: ADULT CROSSING GUARD FACILITY CHANGES FOR THE
2015 — 16 SCHOOL YEAR
RECOMMENDATIONS:
That the second Adult Crossing Guard located at the Crossing Guard Facility on
Fairway Road at Pebblecreek Drive be relocated to the School Crossing on Huron
Road at Featherstone Street/Cranshaw Street.
BACKGROUND:
The Region of Waterloo Traffic Services Division will be installing a full traffic control
signal at the intersection of Fairway Road and Pebblecreek Drive. This is scheduled to
be completed and the traffic signal fully operational prior to September 8. As an interim
measure Transportation Services has been operating the Crossing Guard facility at this
location utilizing two Adult Crossing Guards in order to address pedestrian safety
concerns in this area.
Transportation Services is also in receipt of several requests from the Jean Steckle
Public School Community, as well as the School Transportation Services of Waterloo
Region to reinstall the Adult Crossing Guard facility on Huron Road at Featherstone
Street/Cranshaw Street.
REPORT:
I. Fairway Road and Pebblecreek Drive
The Adult Crossing Guard facility on Fairway Road and Pebblecreek Drive is located in
Ward 2 and serves students attending Pope John Paul II Separate School on
***This information is available in accessible formats upon request. ***
Please call 519-741-2345 or TTY 1-866-969-9994 for assistance.
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Pebblecreek Drive, a Junior Kindergarten to Grade 8 School located on Pebblecreek
Drive. A significant portion of the school community need to cross Fairway Road at this
location in order to access the school. This facility is used extensively with more than 50
school pedestrians crossing each crossing period. In a report from January 2013 (INS-
13-005) the following recommendation was made:
"That the Region of Waterloo Traffic Services be requested to investigate
pedestrian operations at the intersections of Fairway Road at Pebblecreek Drive,
and Fairway Road at Sims Estate Drive; and further,
That Transportation Services staff report to a future Community and
Infrastructure Services Committee meeting on the response received from the
Region of Waterloo."
Transportation Services has been following up with this request regularly and have now
received confirmation that the Region of Waterloo Traffic Services Division will be
installing a traffic control signal on Fairway Road at Pebblecreek Drive with a scheduled
completion date prior to the first day of school.
The presence of the traffic control signal will eliminate the need for a second Adult
Crossing Guard at this location. One Adult Crossing Guard is still warranted due to the
size of the intersection and the volume of turning traffic into the path of crossing
pedestrians.
It is therefore recommended that the second Adult Crossing Guard be relocated. If the
traffic control signal installation is delayed past September 8 then the second Adult
Crossing Guard will be maintained until such time as the traffic control signal is
installed.
II. Huron Road at Featherstone Street/Cranshaw Street
An Adult Crossing Guard facility was installed at this location September 2013 (INS-13-
066) for the opening of Jean Steckle Public School, a junior kindergarten to Grade 8
school located on Woodbine Avenue in Ward 5. This facility was not used in the first 6
months of operation and a subsequent report in February 2014 (INS-14-018)
recommended relocating this facility to Woodbine Avenue at Seabrook Drive.
This report indicated that if the demand for an Adult Crossing Guard on Huron Road
returned Transportation Services would recommend re-installing the facility. The
service is warranted based on traffic conditions and that Huron Road is a 4-lane arterial
roadway. School Transportation Services of Waterloo Region has indicated that more
than 80 households with students attending Jean Steckle Public School live east of
Huron Road necessitating a crossing of this roadway to access the school.
Transportation Services has also received several communications from parents
requesting the facility be re-instated.
Transportation Services is therefore recommending the re-instatement of the Adult
Crossing Guard Facility on Huron Road at Featherstone Street. This facility will be
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reviewed on an ongoing basis in terms of usage during the 2015-16 School Year with
any recommended changes being made in 2016.
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:
There are no financial implications at this time in terms of staffing. The cost of
reinstalling school crossing signs at Huron Road and Featherstone Drive will be $500
and taken from the Sign Maintenance Account.
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT:
INFORM — This report has been posted to the City's website with the agenda in
advance of the council / committee meeting. Transportation Services will be providing
both Jean Steckle Public School and Pope John Paul II Separate School with an
electronic version of the 2015 - 16 School Route Map for the school which will include
facility changes recommended in this report, including Crossing Guard Duty Times
CONSULT - Staff continues to partner with the Waterloo Region District School Board,
the Waterloo District Catholic School Board and the School Transportation Services of
Waterloo Region in determining and implementing the most effective facilities for school
pedestrian safety.
ACKNOWLEDGED BY: Dev Tyagi, Deputy CAO
Infrastructure Services Department
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Fairway Road & Pebblecreek Drive
Adult Crossing Guard location
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Huron Road & Featherstone Street
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