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Council puts brakes on request for additional crossing guard

Long-time crossing guard asked city to consider another guard or moving crosswalk for Harriett Todd Public School
2018-02-19 Crossing Guard1
Carl White has been helping children safely across the intersection at Westmount Drive and George Street for 15 years. Nathan Taylor/OrilliaMatters

Standing at his busy post on George Street each day, ensuring about 30 kids get across busy Westmount Drive safely, Carl White can’t help but notice those who opt to cross the street just down the road at Elmer Avenue.

“Over the last year, I have noticed that there are an additional 30 parents/students who are crossing at Elmer Avenue and Westmount Drive South, rather than at the designated crosswalk,” White wrote in a December letter to city council. “These parents and students are then using a laneway as a shortcut which leads to the school.”

The long-time crossing guard asked the city to consider hiring another crossing guard for the Elmer Avenue crossing or to consider moving the existing crosswalk to that location.

The city threw up its own stop sign to the ideas Monday night when council committee panned the plan. All decisions made must be ratified by city council next week.

It was noted in addition to White at George Street, another crossing guard is posted at the intersection of Westmount Drive South and Barrie Road. Both intersections, manned by crossing guards, are also controlled by all-way stops.

Last month, the city conducted what’s known as a gap study at the intersection of Westmount Drive and George Street. A gap study calculates the safe gap time in vehicular flow; in this case, the time that is required during the break in traffic flow that permits students to cross the road safely.

The calculation takes into consideration the typical reaction time of students, the width of the roadway, the walking speed of students, and the number of groups of pedestrians crossing the roadway.

The safe gap time was calculated to be 14 seconds; this is the amount of time it would take a student to safely cross Westmount Drive South at Elmer Avenue.

During the morning study, there were 36 students that crossed Elmer Avenue and there were 44 safe-gap opportunities for those students to cross the roadway. During the afternoon study, there were 28 students that crossed Elmer Avenue and there were 36 safe-gap opportunities for those students.

The number of safe gaps and students, along with the roadway width indicates that an adult crossing guard is not warranted at this location, said a report from city staff. The four-way stops at the two nearest intersections were also factors as it means “vehicles would be travelling at less than the posted speed limit, which is 40 km/hr.”

The city’s development services and engineering staff also reviewed the three-year collision history at Elmer Avenue and Westmount Drive South. The data was analyzed as far back as 2008 and no collisions were reported.

If council had chosen to green-light a new crossing guard, it would come with a price tag – about $7,375 annually for salary and equipment. Another $2,750 would have been required for signage and line-painting on the road.


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Dave Dawson

About the Author: Dave Dawson

Dave Dawson is community editor of OrilliaMatters.com
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