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HomeMy WebLinkAboutEGD-032-13 Clarhwn REPORT ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT Meeting: GENERAL PURPOSE AND ADMINISTRATION COMMITTEE Date: September 23, 2013 Resolution#: P19- 7°/,& By-law#: Report#: EGD-032-13 File#: Subject: DR. G. J. MACGILLIVRAY AND LYDIA TRULL PUBLIC SCHOOLS-TRAFFIC ISSUES RECOMMENDATIONS: It is respectfully recommended that the General Purpose and Administration Committee recommend to Council the following: 1. THAT Report EGD-032-13 be received; and 2. THAT all interested parties listed in Report EGD-032-13 be advised of Council's decision. Submitted by: I IN _ Reviewed by: A. S. Cannella, Director Franklin Wu, Engineering Services Chief Administrative Officer ASC/LJ13/dv September 17, 2013 CORPORATION OF THE MUNICIPALITY OF CLARINGTON 40 TEMPERANCE STREET, BOWMANVILLE, ONTARIO L1C 3A6 T 905-623-3379 REPORT NO.: EGD-032-13 PAGE 2 1.0 BACKGROUND At its December 10, 2012 meeting the General Purpose and Administration Committee recommended to Council: "THAT staff be directed to organize a public meeting including area residents regarding traffic issues near Lydia Trull Public School and Dr. G. J. MacGillivray Public School; THAT Municipal Law Enforcement Staff, Clarington Fire and Emergency Services, The Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board (KPRDSB), and Durham Region Police Services (DRPS) be invited to participate in the meeting; and; THAT the standard public meeting notice protocol be followed to provide notice of the public meeting." The Committee's recommendation was ratified by Council on December 17, 2012. 2.0 PURPOSE The purpose of this report is to: • update the Committee with respect to the outcome of the Public Meeting • outline previous meetings/discussion between the Municipality and KPRDSB on this matter • advise the Committee what other measures have been taken by Municipal staff in an effort to relieve congestion and encourage students to walk to school • update the Committee on the Board's upcoming site plan application 3.0 PUBLIC MEETING At Council's direction engineering staff, in consultation with KPRDSB, DRPS and Municipal Law Enforcement set May 29th for the Public Meeting and extensively circulated the date, time and location: • in each of the school's newsletter • on the Municipality's web-site • on Facebook • by letter mailed to 289 homes in the vicinity of each school Further a questionnaire was posted on the Municipality's web-site in which residents and parents could express their concerns/comments. On May 29th, engineering staff, along with representatives of the School Board, Durham Regional Police Services and Municipal Law Enforcement held the REPORT NO.: EGD-032-13 PAGE 3 Public Meeting at Faith United Church in Courtice. Thirteen individuals (representing twelve addresses) attended the meeting and seven Comment Sheets and e-mails were received before, during and after the meeting. 3.1 LYDIA TRULL PUBLIC SCHOOL Only one individual associated with Lydia Trull Public School attended the Public Meeting, and that individual had no particular concerns. Staff have never received any traffic-related complaints associated with this school, and in conversation with the principal, she stated that she had never received any complaints regarding traffic around the school. Staff have reviewed the parking/stopping restrictions and signage around the school and found them to be appropriate. 3.2 DR. G. J. MACGILLIVRAY PUBLIC SCHOOL Twelve individuals attended the meeting who lived in the vicinity of Dr. G. J. MacGillivray Public School. The traffic congestion during morning drop off and afternoon pickup around Dr. G. J. MacGillivray has been long documented and the KPRDSB, DRPS and Municipal Law Enforcement, Engineering staff, Planning and Emergency Services have all received complaints. The types of the complaints are: • significant traffic congestion during morning drop-off and afternoon pickup. • violations in the No Parking and No Stopping areas (adding to congestion and decreasing visibility as one exits the school property). • blockage of private driveways by those, generally, waiting to pick up their child in the afternoon. • lack of a properly designed Kiss and Go lot (the current Kiss and Go was a later retrofit in the staff parking lot). 4.0 DR. G. J. MACGILLIVRAY PUBLIC SCHOOL ISSUES 4.1 The number one complaint around this school, as stated, is significant traffic congestion and concern for pedestrian safety. The school was opened in September 2002 with an English curriculum and a French Immersion stream. The school was designed for an enrollment of 600 students with no Kiss and Go lot. At a meeting on May 31, 2012 with representatives from KPRDSB, municipal staff were informed that it was anticipated that 951 students would attend this school in 2013 and 990 the year after that (not including the upcoming full-time kindergarten students). Because the French Immersion students come from a large area, many parents drive their children even though busing is available. This is the one factor that makes this school different from others. REPORT NO.: EGD-032-13 PAGE 4 4.2 Staff started to receive significant complaints regarding traffic in this area early in 2012. Engineering staff reviewed the crossing guard location, No Parking and No Stopping zones with DRPS and Municipal Law Enforcement as early as 2008, and after improvements were made at that time, staff could not see where any additional improvements could be made within the municipal right-of-way. A detailed memo was sent to Mayor and Council on April 30, 2012 outlining the problem of severe congestion and the resultant problems associated with the issue of over capacity. The memo concluded by stating: "Staff feel that this matter is a joint safety issue between the Municipality and the KPRDSB. Staff will be meeting with representatives from the Board, including the school principal and the school council, along with Durham Regional Police Services and By-law staff, to develop a solution which is efficient and which places safety as a priority. As previously stated, it is the opinion of the school, DRPS, By-law and Engineering staff that the No Parking and No Stopping zones should remain unchanged in order to allow for adequate visibility and safe passage on Meadowglade Road for pedestrians and the travelling public. The objective of the meeting will be to investigate all options to alleviate congestion; however, the main focus will be to find on-site solutions, including an improved design of the on-site Kiss and Go service." 4.3 In July 2012, Municipal staff retained an expert in traffic circulation to investigate on-site potential improvements to the school site. Five alternatives were presented in concept to staff. All required alterations to the school site to: • expand and improve the operation of the Kiss and Go program. • increase on-site parking. In the meantime, KPRDSB employed a new Superintendent of Education- Western Area (which includes former Darlington Twp.) and the Board hosted a Public Meeting at Dr. G. J. MacGillivray "to discuss and obtain public comment on a proposed program change at MacGillivray to reduce enrollment pressure." The report from the Superintendent of Education and the Superintendent of Business and Corporate Services to the Kawartha Pineridge District School Board Resource Committee concluded with the recommendation "That the Grade 7 and 8 English and French Immersion Program be moved from Dr. J. MacGillivray Public School to Courtice Secondary School (CSS) effective September 2013." Since that time, KPRDSB has stated that it will not consider any on-site modifications, despite numerous suggestions from engineering staff, until the impact of moving the Grade 7's and 8's is fully realized. It has been municipal staff's opinion that these older students are not the ones being driven, but representatives from the Board disagree with that assertion and are of the opinion that there will be some relief to the traffic congestion once these students move to CSS. REPORT NO.: EGD-032-13 PAGE 5 4.4 In response to questions from residents in the area, through Councilors Woo and Hooper, the Director of Planning e-mailed staff comments to Mayor and Members of Council on April 15, 2013 which stated: Resident Question: The overcrowding of the school and the impact it has on the neighbourhood. The accommodation of packing the students into one location has stretched the resources which has a negative impact. Lack of green space for the children to play. Shortage of equipment i.e, band equipment, which was fundraised, for the large student population. Director of Planning Response: The overcrowding of the school does have an impact on the neighbourhood. Staff have tried to engage the school board on a number of occasions (meetings and conference calls) to address the problems around the overcapacity of Dr. G. J. MacGillivray School. The Board admits that the school is over 50% over capacity. Despite work done by Engineering Services to look at options to improve on-site parking and Kiss-n-Ride, the School Board has indicated that there are no funds available for site improvements. The Municipality does not have any control over the number of portables placed on the property. The Municipality approved the school site plan in 2001. The approved site plan provided for 4 portables. I believe at present there are 11 portables on site. Under the Planning Act, any school existing prior to January 1, 2007 is exempt from site plan control for portables. There are no legal impediments that would allow the Municipality to refuse a building permit. However, the school board will need to apply for additional kindergarten space which would be a permanent addition. Starting next fall, Grade 7 and 8 of the French stream will be attending at Courtice Secondary School. The 7's and 8's are not the ones typically, being driven. Additionally, the school will have a fulltime kindergarten in, 1 believe 2015, and many of those younger kids will be driven. Secondly, in conjunction with the new Duke of Cambridge School in Bowmanville, the district boundaries are being redefined. As noted in the report, MacGillivray is the largest school in the KPR system. Council could put the KPR on notice that due to the continuing overcrowding of the school site, we would not consider expansion of the school with new kindergarten classrooms until this matter is addressed. 5.0 AREA IMPROVEMENTS IMPLEMENTED BY STAFF 5.1 Throughout this period of time, staff continued to look at ways in which safety could be improved and walking to school could be encouraged. In some of the comments and e-mails received, parents expressed concerns about allowing REPORT NO.: EGD-032-13 PAGE 6 their child to walk to school due to heavy traffic congestion. Ironically, the parents' solution was to drive their child to school which, obviously, adds to that congestion. An all-way stop warrant analysis was conducted at the intersections of Prestonvale Road/Meadowglade Road and Prestonvale Road/Glenabbey Drive. All-way stop control is warranted where certain thresholds of total intersection volume, traffic split and pedestrian volumes are met. Staff determined last winter that these two intersections are close to meeting warrants, and all-way stop controls were installed in June of this year. 5.2 Additionally, staff can advise that sidewalks on the east side of Prestonvale Road from Meadowglade Road to Claret Road are being designed this year, and their construction is being considered in the 2014 Capital Budget and Forecast. 5.3 Further, the residential subdivision to the south of the school was draft approved without a walkway from Cale Avenue to the school block at the request of the Board in 2008. Recently, staff have consulted with the Board and the developer, and a 5.5 wide pedestrian connection will be constructed when the Huntington III Subdivision proceeds. This walkway is wider than typical walkways in order to provide enhanced landscaping and a more attractive pedestrian connection than is typically constructed. 5.4 Municipal Law Enforcement and DRPS have been very attentive to the issues in the vicinity of the school, and they attend this area as often as resources permit. 6.0 UPCOMING SITE PLAN On August 8, 2013 staff convened a preconsultation meeting with representatives from KPRDSB regarding the Board's upcoming site plan application to construct an addition to the school to accommodate full-time kindergarten students. The meeting was attended by Engineering staff, Planning staff, Conservation Authority staff and three members of the KPRDSB. A new addition is proposed to the public school to accommodate six classrooms of full-time kindergarten students in September 2014. Engineering staff clearly stated their concerns regarding the existing traffic congestion on Meadowglade Road. Staff do not anticipate that the transfer of 180 Grade 7 and 8 students plus the addition of six classes of full time kindergarten students will result in any improvement to the existing problem. The Board was informed that this site is premature for any additional development and staff recommended that the Board retain the services of a transportation engineer to investigate opportunities (including additional accesses) to improve on-site circulation and the operation of pick up and drop off. REPORT NO.: EGD-032-13 PAGE 7 7.0 CONCLUSION The Municipality is very aware of the significant congestion around Dr. G. J. MacGillivray Public School particularly during morning drop-off and afternoon pick-up. Staff have made the following improvements to the area to increase pedestrian safety and to promote students walking to school: • all-way stops are now warranted and have been installed at the Prestonvale Road/Meadowglade Road and Prestonvale Road/Glenabbey Drive intersections. • sidewalks on the east side of Prestonvale Road are being designed this year and will be considered in the 2014 Capital Budget and Forecast. • a pedestrian connection from future Cale Avenue to the school block has been successfully negotiated with the developer. • The Municipality is continuing to work with the KPRDSB regarding on-site improvements to help relieve congestion on the municipal road to the satisfaction of the Director of Engineering Services and Director of Planning Services through the site plan process. Staff will continue to monitor the traffic at MacGillivray Public School and will work with the School Board, parents and area residents to improve the traffic concerns relating to the school site. 8.0 CONCURRENCE This report has been reviewed by the Director of Planning Services who concurs with the recommendations. CONFORMITY WITH STRATEGIC PLAN — Not Applicable Staff Contact: Leslie J. Benson, P. Eng., Manager Development Engineering & Traffic Attachments: Attachment 1 - Aerial Plan of Dr. G. J. MacGillivray Public School Neighbourhood List of interested parties to be advised of Council's decision: Victoria Ryszkowski Kevin Hoskin Jason Maciejko Jill Alley-deBeaupre Janice Jones Regan Hutchison Dawn Hannah Shelly Roy Kristopher Dell Pam Guta Steven Cooke Leo Stafford Gabriella Stafford Stacey Peck Cathy Abraham Jennifer O'Meara Glenda Rhodes Bonnie Parieien Paolina Flicke Shonagh Dunn Katherine Martin I y 4 1 9 ' I: �:. - 6a�L �4 A fit'' • � I:' � iyy A0, � 4 F 1 -3 z1 _ _ a- .rte, • - -- 0 - y • r,._ r ..��.___ _.._ ' •, rep ­4 'j ` -ill ' D - 4 1 v 1 .> ti v n, t • r ;✓ ■ `� a s --= '��ii�°�p4�'— �p � a 11 —I minmm n►I=�I ' UI�II� ���— �•a ��� �IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIID= 1111111111111= ► �—C � DG1CB_� � — 11.1111111111= C��_11111:�� i i 1 1111111111�,�Illllllllll`I\e\\\\\\,`�/� IIIIIIIIIIIIII�—11111111 =�� O!�IIIIIIU�\,,'.i 111 1111111/I�IIIIIIIIU IIIIC11111111\\\\\\\\�,��',—ulllllllNl=_ 1111111��. 7 1 11 11 11 11 10\\\,i� 11111111) 111.III IIIIIIIIIU\gip\\\\\\\\ �'I��- _ 0\\\ems♦ ,�\I 11111111111II���_ •llllllllll\\\\�Q�\0� 1� 1111=1111111 VIII►��Q\\\\\\\\\\1111 =;111111��I i i���il _ 1111111=\lama:�\\'\\``\\\p\\�o``w• ����i=__ , �, �© 1 Op per, s a. i _IIIIIIIIII�IIIIIIII�=__:=�. �• �� 1 ■ / ' IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII I:�� �ii������ 111111111 �°\ nnnununnul 1 I u.�nl+nulli 111umunun p\I11lnuumlmu,Im = •. no m mummllluur =11113 nuu 1 m -llunulunnnm!lmmi° DRAWN BY: E.L. -• - •- _� �� 111111111111111111111IIII =111111 IINIIIIIIIIIIIII���/I 11111111111111111111111111 111111 INNIIIII/// ■ 11111111//�C 111111111111111111111111111 �IDllllllltllllll// IIIIIIIIIIIIII��DIII I IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII �IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII///qj/ �uluau� nm +unnunuul =uuummuui REPORT No. 1 ATTACHMENT 11111111111111 � 111111111111 IIIIIIIII 11' 11111111111. . • � 11111111111- � �^M _._- 11111111111- I�it—�1♦