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HomeMy WebLinkAboutDSD-18-036 - 2018/19 School Safety ReviewREPORT TO: Community and Infrastructure Services Committee th DATE OF MEETING:August 13, 2018 SUBMITTED BY: Barry Cronkite,Interim Manager,Transportation Planning, (519)741-2200 ext. 7738 PREPARED BY:Dean McMillan, Supervisor, Crossing Guards (519)741-2200 ext. 7232 WARD (S) INVOLVED:All Wards th DATE OF REPORT:May 30 ,2018 REPORT NO.:DSD-18-036 SUBJECT:2018/19 School Safety Review ___________________________________________________________________________ RECOMMENDATIONS:That the Adult Crossing Guard be relocated from the southlegto the north leg(east crosswalk retained)location of the signalized intersection for Fairway Road North at Lackner Boulevard; That an Adult Crossing Guard assisted School Crossingbe permanently establishedat thesouthbound right turnchannel locationalong Fairway Road at Lackner Boulevard; That an Adult Crossing Guard assisted School Crossingbe permanently establishedat the midblock pedestrian signal on Glasgow Street in front ofWestmount Public School; That funding for the two new locations be referred to the 2019 budget processwith atotal cost of approximately $15,000 annually; That a 40 km/h School Zone Speed Limit be established on Seabrook Drive from Amand Drive to Forest Grove Laneand on Amand Drive from Grovehill Crescent to Seabrook Drive; That stopping be prohibited anytime on the south side (odd-numbered) of Seabrook Drive from Amand Drive to a point 150m west thereof and on the east side (even-numbered) of AmandDrive from Seabrook Drive to Grovehill Crescent; That stopping be prohibited from 8:00 am – 9:30 am and 2:30 pm – 4:00 pm from Monday to Friday between September 1 and June 30 on the north side (even-numbered) of Seabrook Drive from Park Glen Street to 70m west thereof; That School Bus Loading Zones be established on the south(odd-numbered) side of Seabrook Drive 55m west of Park Glen Streetto a point 15m west thereofand on the east (even numbered) side of Amand Drive 40m north of Grovehill Crescentto a point 28m north thereof; *** This information is available in accessible formats upon request. *** Please call 519-741-2345 or TTY 1-866-969-9994for assistance. 8 - 1 That a School Bus Loading Zone be established on the south side(odd-numbered) of Prospect Avenue 45m east of Emerald Avenue to a point 15m east thereof; That an Adult Crossing Guard assisted School Crossing be permanentlyestablished at a midblock location on Zeller Drive in front of Lackner Woods Public School; That a Pedestrian Crossover Level 2 Type D be permanently established at a midblock location on Walter Street behind King Edward Public School; That funding for the School Travel Planning initiative be increased by $5,085 in 2019; That Council endorse the use of the School Crossing Guard Guide in reviewing existing and potential crossing guard locations; and further, That the Uniform Traffic By-law be amended accordingly. BACKGROUND: Transportation Services provides an annual School Safety Review report for Council’s consideration. In the past school year, and for the upcoming school year,school related issues havebeen summarized which includesthe following: - New and/or adjusted crossing guard locations - School related signage - School Travel Planning(STP) - Crossing Guard Warrant analysis information This report serves to update all of the above issues. REPORT: Chicopee HillsPublic School In November, 2017, the crossing guardwas relocatedfrom the south leg crosswalk to the north leg crosswalkas a result of a staff review in consultation with school travel planning. To accommodate this shift, asecondcrossing guard was addedat the right turn channelto assist students crossing from the southboundapproach to the westlegof the intersection (over 75 students have been observed crossing through this right-turn channel); refer to Appendix A for further information. One crossing guard cannotbe expected tosafely manage all required approacheswith the presence of the right turn channel. These adjustments were completed duringthe 2017/2018 school year and have been very well received by parents and students traveling through the intersection on their way to and from Chicopee Hills Public School.Staff have accommodated fundingforthis position within the current 2018 budget and long-term funding shouldbe referred to the 2019 budget process. 8 - 2 WestmountPublic School The City was approached during the 2017/2018 school year regardingoperations atthe Midblock Pedestrian Signal (MPS) in front of Westmount Public School along Glasgow Street, with the main concern being vehicles traveling through the red signal display.In response, staff completed a pedestrian studyin November, 2017. Based on the data collected, staff are recommending the installation of a permanent crossing guardat this location. The tablebelow displays morning and afternoon pedestrian data collected: Westmount P.S. –Mid-block Pedestrian Signal Review TimeAMPM No. of pedestrians observed6352 Staff havepiloted a crossing guard at this location since February, 2018and have not received further concerns regardingschool safety.Funding to continue the adult crossing guard operation is recommended to be referred to the2019 budget process. Janet Metcalfe Public School Janet Metcalfe Public School is scheduled to open in September,2018 for students in Junior Kindergarten to Grade 8. The school will also be used partially as a child care centre. The school is located at the corner of Seabrook Drive and Amand Drive(Ward 5).To apply consistent speed limits in school zones, as approved in report INS-16-051, staff isrecommending a 40km/h speed limit along the following roadways: - Seabrook Drive from Amand Drive to Forest Grove Lane - Amand Drive from Seabrook Drive to Grovehill Crescent In addition to the reduced speed limit for the school zone areaas shown in Appendix B, the table below summarizes the parking/stoppingregulations that will be installed for Janet Metcalfe: StreetFromToSideRegulation Seabrook Dr.Park 70m west NorthThat stopping be prohibited Glen St.thereoffrom 8:00 am – 9:30 am and 2:30 pm – 4:00 pm from Monday to Friday between September 1 and June 30 Seabrook Dr.Amand Dr.150m east South“No-Stopping, Anytime” thereof Seabrook Dr.Park 55m west SouthSchool Bus Loading Zone Glen St.thereof Amand Dr.Seabrook Grovehill Cres.East“No-Stopping, Anytime” Dr. Amand Dr. Grovehill 40m north EastSchool Bus Loading Zone Cres.thereof to 28m north thereof 8 - 3 The parking regulations above are illustrated in Appendix C. Sunnyside Public School To accommodate a request from Student Transportation Services of Waterloo Region (STSWR) and to accommodate increased busing activity, staff arerecommending adding an additional School Bus Loading Zonealong Prospect Avenue 45m east of Emerald Avenue. Staff will notifyany affected residents of the parking by-law change. Further information is shown in Appendix D. Lackner Woods Public School Transportation staff were asked by the Parent Council to review student safety along Zeller Drive in front of LacknerWoods Public School. Resident concerns included an overall increase in traffic along Zeller Drive, primarily due to recent developments. This development has also led to an increase in students walking to and from the school location. Results of the review are as follows: Date:Number of Pedestrians:Traffic Volume: (24 hr) June, 2016144,908 May/June, 2018946,531 % increase571%33% Staff believe that due to the increase in traffic volume and number of pedestrians along Zeller Drive, that inadequate gaps exist to determine when it is safe to cross the roadway. As a result, staff are recommending relocating the existing crossing location along Zeller Drive to a location with the highest concentration of pedestrians and proposing the implementation of a crossing guard to assist current walking students and potentially increase the number of walking students for Lackner Woods PS. Staff will work in collaboration with the Parent Council and the School Travel Planner to ensure appropriate crossing location is established. King Edward Public School This school has a unique circumstance in that the playground area is separated from the schoolsite by a roadway (Walter Street between Agnes Street and Gruhn Street). School administrators contacted City staff to determine whether a crosswalk could be installed to facilitate crossing the roadway to connect the School Board properties. To review the crossing location and determine the number of pedestrians crossing during the course of an average school day, staff conducted an 8 hour vehicular and pedestrian count along Walter Street. During the course of the 8 hour study, staff observed the following: Date:Number of Vehicles:Number of Pedestrians: Thursday, June 21st, 20182, 070509 8 - 4 The above traffic information was then usedto determine whether a crossing facility would be warranted and, if so, the type of device recommended for Walter Street. Based on information issued by Ministry of Transportation and the traffic data collected, staff recommend installing a Level 2, Type D pedestrian crossover to facilitate crossings which would include “Stop for Pedestrians” signage, crosswalk markings and stop lines. School Travel Planning In the first quarter of 2018, the School Travel Planner (STP)applied forand was awardeda grant offered through Green Communities Canada for Ontario Active School Travel(OAST). The grant was applied for based on a new structure that would see the existing STP position (under the Student Transportation Services of Waterloo Region) supervise two new STP positions. These new STP positions willbegin in September 2018 and result inreview an additional 4 to 5 schools being reviewedper yearfor the City of Kitchener(10 to 12 Region-wide). To further support the new structure that will now be set-up by the School Travel Planner, the City will be required to provide $5,085.00 per year, over the course oftwo years(period of grant funds available) in addition to the 0.4 FTE STP position that has previously been approved. This funding willalsosupport enhanced communications (greater weband social media presence) and be used to redefine tools that will assist to encourage students to walk, “roll” (in-line skating and scooters) and cycle to schools within the Cityand Region. This additional funding requirement is recommended to be confirmedthrough the 2019 budget process. Crossing Guard Warrant Analysis To standardize student crossing locations and develop consistency for Ontario, representatives from the Ontario Traffic Council (OTC) worked with representatives from the Ministry of Transportation (MTO) to prepare a report in 1992 entitled School Crossing Review; this document was then used by the OTC to develop the 2006 SCGG (where new best practices were developed). Since 2006, a number of new crossing challenges have presented themselves for which the guide did not provide crossing guard administrators thorough details on, such as new PXO installations and roundabout locations. As a result, theOTC worked with various jurisdictions (including City of Kitchener) to develop a newSchool Crossing Guard Guide (SCGG) to assist road authorities in determining when it is appropriate to recommend an adultcrossing guard to assist students in crossing theroadway. Additionally, utilizing the SSCGwarrant moving forward, provides an overall consistency with driver expectancy concerning crossing guards across the City of Kitchener and the Province of Ontario. ALIGNMENT WITH CITY OF KITCHENER STRATEGIC PLAN: The recommendation of this report supports the achievement of the city’s strategic vision through the delivery of core service. 8 - 5 FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS: The proposed two new crossing guards will be fundedfrom the existing crossing guard part time wages operating budget for 2018. Funding for the two new crossing guardsand additional School Travel Planner are recommended tobe referred to the 2019 budget process. Funds for the signs in relation to schools will be taken from the existing sign maintenance budget. COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT: INFORM – This report has been posted to the City’s website with the agenda in advance of the council / committee meeting. PREVIOUS CONSIDERATION OF THIS MATTER: N/A ACKNOWLEDGED BY: Justin Readman, General Manager Development Services Department 8 - 6 Appendix A Fairway Rd at Lackner Blvd – Crossing Locations Legend: -New Crossing Guard locations -Previous Crossing Guard location 8 - 7 Appendix B Janet Metcalfe – 40 km/h Speed Zone Legend: - Proposed 40 km/h School Zone Speed Limit 8 - 8 Appendix C Janet Metcalfe – Parking Regulations Figure 2 Legend: - No Stopping, Anytime - No Stopping, 8:00 am – 9:30 am and 2:30 pm – 4:00 pm from Monday to Friday between stth September 1 – June 30 - School Bus Loading Zone 8 - 9 Appendix D Prospect Ave – School Bus Loading Zone Legend: - Proposed School Bus Loading Zone 8 - 10