Qayqayt Elementary School parents are appealing to the city for action to help address “traffic chaos” around the school before a tragedy occurs.
Rhonda Field, a parent at the school, said people have been double parking and parking in the middle of the road. She said the traffic issues have led to people yelling and swearing and almost resulted in fisticuffs.
“There seems to be a lack of traffic control and markings,” she said. “It has been leading to daily chaos at the drop-off and pickup times.”
Field said she’s been advised that traffic is being studied and it’s unlikely there will be any action until construction is finished at the school.
“We have to say that our parents are very concerned about the situation and we are calling on council to facilitate an immediate solution before there is a tragic accident,” she said. “We have got some proposed solutions for these problems. The first thing is we really feel that having crosswalks painted on the intersection surrounding the school would be very helpful because there are no crosswalks.”
Installation of curb cuts at major intersections would help with accessibility, said Field.
“The installation of a four-way stop at Merivale and Agnes Street, at least on a temporary basis, until permanent signage is available – we are happy to have a stop sign that has a rubber tire on the bottom as long as it stops the traffic,” she said. “We would like to see the creation of some pickup and drop-off zones for parking, just like every other elementary school has.”
Field said parents would like to see enforcement of the traffic violations, such as double parking, blocking access and failure to stop at stop signs.
“We really ask for school zone signage on Agnes and Royal to limit the speed,” she said.
According to Field, the PAC is looking at other options such as training crossing guards and providing high visibility flags for crossing the street. With city hall so close to the school, she invited council members to come by in the morning or afternoon to witness the situation for themselves.
“There’s nothing more precious to us than the children,” said Mayor Wayne Wright. “We’ll have to figure out the things – I want to make sure your list is left with us so we can have it looked at.”
Coun. Jonathan Cote has seen the issues firsthand, as his daughters attend the school. He said it “wasn’t a very pleasant walk” to take his kids to school on the first day of classes.
“First we saw a pedestrian get hit at Fourth Street and Carnarvon. The adult was fine, but obviously it was quite traumatic for my children. Then we get to Merivale and Agnes, which was complete chaos at that intersection – students crossing the street, people crossing the street on Agnes to get to the street – unaware that there isn’t a four-way stop there, and then vehicles are travelling down Merivale. I think there are certainly some very significant issues that need to be dealt with around the new school.”
Cote said the issues have already been brought to the city’s bicycle and pedestrian advisory committee. While it can take time for the community to adjust to a new school, Cote thinks there are some changes the city needs to implement to make it a safe environment.
“I know when we got to school on the first day my wife said I miss crossing Royal Avenue – she felt much safer having to go across Royal Avenue than this particular route we are doing,” he said. “I think that speaks a lot to the pedestrian environment around the new school.
“I think we need to get on this issue sooner rather than later,” he said.
New Westminster city council referred the issue to staff for a report back to council
“We knew there would be some growing pains with the traffic,” said Coun. Chuck Puchmayr. “We are a couple of weeks into school now, a month into school – I think our staff is certainly going to come back with recommendations on what needs to be done to make it safer. We will certainly take your recommendations into account.”
Jim Lowrie, the city’s director of engineering, said a traffic management plan was prepared in advance of the school’s opening. He said staff would follow up on the matter.
In other Qayqayt news, the school continues to raise funds to build a playground at the school at 85 Merivale St., the former site of St. Mary’s Hospital. The school is still $95,000 short on its playground campaign and is hoping to get a grant through the
Aviva Community Fund campaign.
“You can support us by going online to wwww.vote4qq.com,” she said of the daily voting that goes until Oct. 13. “That will take you directly to our page.
Puchmayr said he’s pleased the city was able to cooperate with the school district on the site, but is disappointed the provincial government can build a school but parents are left to raise funds for a playground for the kids. He said playgrounds are a necessity, especially for young children, as it’s a way to exercise and release energy that makes them more productive in class.
