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Home My WebLink AboutPD-013-01 !> ... DN:P013-QI THE CORPORATION OF THE MUNICIPALITY OF CLARINGTON REPORT Meeting: General Purpose and Administration Committee File # -:;;;t' GF Res. #CI/I-/o)..,-O I Date: Monday, February 5, 2001 Report #: PD-O 13-0 1 FILE #: CG 1.5 By-law # Subject: REQUEST FOR THREE (3) CROSSING GUARDS FILE: CG 1.5 Recommendations: It is respectfully recommended to Council the following: 1. THAT Report PD-O 13-0 I be received; 2. THAT an Adult School Crossing Guard NOT BE APPROVED on Simpson Avenue at Jane Street in Bowmanville; 3. THAT the existing Crossing Guard at Scugog Street and Jackman Road in Bowmanville be relocated to Scugog Street and FourthStreet at such time as the section of sidewalk is constructed on Scugog Street between Sawmill Court and Jackman Road; 4. THAT an Adult School Crossing Guard NOT BE APPROVED for Robert Adams Drive at Whittaker Avenue walkway in Courtice; 5. THAT the Director of Public Works arrange for the installation of school crossing signs, pavement markings and required sidewalk extensions at the Scugog Street and Fourth Street location, at the appropriate time; 6. THAT all interested parties listed in this report and any delegation be advised of Council's decision. 1. BACKGROUND 1.1 On September 13, 2000, a letter was received from Michelle Clarke requesting a Crossing Guard be placed at Simpson Avenue at Jane Street in Bowmanville. At the present time her daughter is unable to be bussed as she is within walking distance to Ontario Street Public School. The only aide that is available to her to cross Simpso~ ,Avenue is at Simpson Avenue and King Street where there is lights and a Crossing Guard available. For her daughter to walk to the lights, cross, then walk back to Jane Street it will add 20 minutes to her trip as well as put her over the kilometers that is considered walking distance. 633 REPORT NO.: PD-013-01 PAGE 2 1.2 At the Council workshop on Friday, January 5"', 2001, Members of Council identified citizen interest in placing a School Crossing Guard at the intersection ofPourth Street and Scugog Street in Bowmanville. 1.3 On October 2nd, 2000, Council received a letter from Diane Akermann and Susan Loeb requesting that a Traffic Study be conducted to determine if a crossing guard would be necessary at the comer of Worthington Drive and Robert Adams Drive in Courtice. They noted that on June 5"', a letter was sent to their homes by Dr. Emily Stowe Public School advising that the bussing would no longer be available to students living in the Robert Adams and Hemingway Drive area. Due to temporary safety concerns as a result of construction and some streets not being completed in the area, the Board decided to temporarily provide bus transportation to students. Once the construction had been completed, the Board advised that transportation would be discontinued at the end of the school year. They were advised that the walking distance for JK/K is 1.0 km and Grades 1-8 is 1.6 km according to Board Policy. As a result, they now have a number of children walking to and from school from this area. They noted that with Robert Adams Drive becoming "an increasingly busy" street as the community continues to grow, they are concerned for the safety of their children and therefore request consideration be given to providing a Crossing Guard. 2. MUNICIPAL POLICY The standard method to determine the need for an Adult Crossing Guard in an unbiased and consistent method was developed by the Institute of Transportation Engineers and is used by many municipalities throughout North America. The technique involves the use of a stop watch to determine the length and quantity of safe gaps between vehicles. 634 REPORT NO.: PD-013-01 PAGE 3 In 1991 the Municipal of Clarington adopted a "50% delay" as the threshold for the introduction of an Adult School Crossing Guard. 3. REVIEW AND COMMENTS 3.1 Simpson Avenue at Jane Street, Bowmanvil/e A Traffic Study was conducted by the Traffic Co-ordinator of the Public Works Department. Upon completion the following was noted: . October 2, 2000 pm 63.8% . October 25, 2000 pm 49.4% . January 19,2001 p.m 44.2% School records show that only 6 children need to cross this street. On October 25th, 2000 only one child crossed the street and we must assume the others were driven by parents. On October 2nd, 2000, 4 children crossed the street but while doing the study there was a vehicle working on the comer and it was unclear as to whether the children came from the west or north. On January 19th, 2001, only 2 children crossed at Jane Street while 2 more crossed at Prince Street. It is unusual to see the resulted vary from 63.8% to 44.2%, however, just prior to the October 2nd, 2000 study there had been some construction activity on Liberty Street and some traffic may have still been using Simpson Avenue as a by-pass. Excluding the October 2nd measurement anomaly, the average delay is 46.8%, below the minimum warrant. Furthermore, there is only a few children potentially serviced at this location. In the past, Council has turned down a request for an adult guard in Orono, which had 5-6 children crossing. 3.2 SCUROR Street at Fourth Street, Bowmanville The existing Crossing Guard located on the south side of Jackman Road assists children crossing Scugog Street. Observation on the morning of January 22nd, 2001 showed two young students living between Jackman Road and Sawmill Court who needed to cross Scugog Road. 635 REPORT NO.: PD-013-01 PAGE 4 A second Crossing Guard now requested 125 metres to the north to service the new Sawmill Court. Staff's recommended solution is to provide crossing protection to all the children with the relocation of the existing Crossing Guard from Jackman Road to Fourth Street. This can only be accomplished if a new section of sidewalk is constructed. The Public Works Department anticipates incorporating into the 2002 Capital Budget sidewalk installation on the west side of Scugog Street from the north limit of Jackman Road to 10 metres north of Sawmill Court. 3.3 Robert Adams Drive at Whittaker Avenue Walkway, Courtice There were two requests for crossings on Robert Adams Drive. The Municipality has agreed with the School Board to construct a sidewalk during 2001 to link Whittaker Avenue to Robert Adams Drive. This is the location where a future Crossing Guard, if any, should be placed to serve both the north and south residents. The Traffic Study results conducted by the Traffic Co-ordinator are as follows: . December 6, 2000 pm 26.3% . January 18,2001 am 18.3% . January 18,2001 pm 32.7% These numbers fall short of the 50% requirement, however, the Traffic Co-ordinator will continue to monitor this crossing for any changes in traffic flows. The all-way stop installed January 12th, 2001 at Prestonvale Road and Claret Road may cause a slight shift in traffic over to Robert Adams Drive. 4. CONCLUSIONS 4.1 The Traffic Co-ordinator will continue to monitor the Simpson Avenue and Robert Adams Drive locations. It is recommended that the Crossing Guard for Scugog Street be relocated at such time as the new sidewalk has been constructed. 4.2 The Director of Public Works have reviewed this report and concur with its contents. 636 REPORT NO.: PD-013-Ol PAGE 5 Respectfully submitted, Reviewed by, d~~~ Franklin Wu, M.C.I.P., RP.P. Chief Administrative Officer. D vid Crome, M.C.I.P., RP.P. Direc r of Planning & Development DC*df 29 January 2001 Attachment 1 - Proposed Location (Simpson Avenue/Jane Street) Attachment 2 - Proposed Location (Scugog Street/Fourth Street) Attachment 3 - Proposed Location (Robert Adams at Whittaker) Interested parties to be notified of Council and Committee's decision: Diane Akermann 43 Auburn Lane COURTICE, Ontario LIE 2C6 Principal Lord Elgin Public School 140 High Street BOWMANVILLE, Ontario LIC 3E7 Susan Loeb 79 Auburn Lane COURTICE, Ontario LIE 2C6 Michelle Clarke 37 Simpson Avenue BOWMANVILLE, Ontario LIC 3M5 Principal Dr. Emily Stowe Public School 71 Sandringham Drive COURTICE, Ontario LIE I W8 Principal Ontario Street Public School 116 Ontario Street BOWMANVILLE, Ontario LIC 2T4 637 ATTACHMENT 1 e PROPOSED CROSSING GUARD LOCATION 638 ATTACHMENT 2 e PROPOSED CROSSING GUARD LOCATION o~-{"y.. ~c;~ \...0 . t'..~u~ ~v \ DALEY J AVENUE HOGAN CRESCENT MEADOWVIEW BOULEVARD ~ w 0:: I- (J) FOURTH STREET :r: [ w ~ " 0 ti z I c5 w w :5 0:: [ 0:: 0:: l- I- (J) (J) " (J) m THIRD STREET 0 I- :::!: " () :5 :::::> w z FREDERICK u a. 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