Wellington County and the Upper Grand District School Board are considering a number of options to deal with traffic safety concerns at Brisbane Public School in Erin.
In February, the county roads committee received a petition signed by more than 320 residents asking for a school zone to be established in front of the school on Wellington Road 124.
The group was asking for a 40km/h speed limit and a flashing light during school drop off and pick up times.
At its Feb. 26 meeting, county council approved a roads committee recommendation authorizing staff to conduct the review of the traffic situation around all schools on county roads.
At the March 26 council meeting, county engineer Gord Ough reported similar situations do not exist on other county roads.
“The Brisbane school seems to be unique,” Ough stated.
In his report, he noted the Brisbane school was built as a bus-access school and no on-site accommodations were included for parents to drop off or pick up students, either when it was originally built or when a school in Ospringe was closed and students transferred to Brisbane.
“It is my understanding … many parents of the younger students have chosen to drive their children to school and that, due to the limited vehicular space on site, are choosing to park on both shoulders of former Highway 24, now known as Wellington Road 124, to drop off their children in the morning and to pick up their children in the afternoon,” Ough explained.
He said that in addition to the speed reduction and flashing light option, a second option of filling in the roadside ditch to accommodate the loading and unloading of the junior and senior kindergarten students has been discussed.
However, he noted, “No one at the February roads committee meeting seemed to consider either of these two options as safe options, whether one or both options were to be implemented.”
The estimated cost of the purchase and the installation of signs and flashing lights is about $10,000, while the estimated cost of filling in the ditch to widen and pave the shoulder on one side is $40,000 to $50,000.
Ough said a third option of “doing whatever it takes to accommodate the loading and unloading of the junior and senior kindergarten children on school property, which may well involve the elimination of some outside student activity space,” has not been completely examined and estimated for cost.
Ough said the county staff and the school board are exploring the various options available.
“I think the school board is likely going to take a little longer than us to get to something they think they can promote.”
“A least we know there are options,” said councillor Gary Williamson, who chairs the roads committee.
