The city has taken action to improve pedestrian and traffic safety around New Westminster’s newest school.
Rhonda Field, a parent at Qayqayt Elementary School, appeared before city council on Oct. 6 to express concern about a lack of traffic control and markings around the school, saying it was leading to “daily chaos” at drop-off and pickup times. Council forwarded her concerns to staff.
“The contractor that was building the school was also responsible for building the sidewalks and road improvements adjacent to the school, fronting the school,” Jim Lowrie, the city’s director of engineering told The Record on Oct. 16. “We couldn’t get access until they were finished.”
Lowrie said the city was able to begin work on the paint markings and signage last week. Most of the work, which was included in a traffic management plan developed as part of the planning for the new school, was completed last week.
According to Lowrie, the contractor working on the school was behind schedule, which resulted in a delay in the city being able to put up signs and do markings on the road.
To date, work completed includes four-way stop and crosswalk markings at the Agnes/Merivale intersection, at Merivale and Cunningham streets, at the multiuse pathway and at Agnes and Elliott streets. Curb bulges at Royal Avenue and Third Street are currently underway and will be done by Oct. 24.
Lowrie said school pickup and drop-off signs have also been erected at the site, a 30 kilometre per hour speed zone has been enacted on Agnes Street, and Merivale Street has been restricted to one-way southbound traffic.
Field told council that parents would like to see enforcement of the traffic violations, such as double parking, blocking access and failure to stop at stop signs. Parents would also like to see school zone signage on Agnes and Royal to limit the speed.
Lowrie said the city’s parking control staff will be monitoring the morning drop-off and afternoon pickup times to ensure motorists are complying with the rules.
Jerry Behl, a transportation engineer with the city, said staff will be walking around the site in the next couple of weeks with the school’s PAC to see if there are any outstanding deficiencies or updates needed to the best routes to school plan. Although contractors were still working on the site, he said the city should have installed signs prior to the school opening.
Coun. Chuck Puchmayr said he visited the site on the morning after Field’s presentation to city council.
“It was crazy how people were literally stopping their cars anywhere to let their children out,” he said.
Lowrie said it’s been determined that 30 kilometre/hour signage is not warranted on the Royal Avenue side of Qayqayt Elementary School because there is a grade separation between Royal Avenue and the school. He said the school is well below the grade on Royal Avenue and the multiuse pathway is also separated from Royal Avenue.
“There is no student drop-off or pickup on Royal Avenue,” he said. “All the school drop-off activity occurs on Agnes Street and Merivale Street, so having a 30 kilometre zone on Royal Avenue isn’t warranted.”
Coun. Betty McIntosh said parents model to their children how to be safe – or how not to be safe. While the issues were exacerbated around Qayqayt Elementary because it was a new school, she said it’s a situation that exists around all schools.
“It’s not a new problem,” said McIntosh, who suggested every school should be working with their parents to ensure safety is considered.
While students won’t be dropped off on Royal Avenue, they may cross the street to get to the school.
“They are protected by traffic signals at both Third Street and First Street. There is traffic signals at both those locations,” Lowrie said. “They were existing but we have enhanced the Third Street one by putting in a curb bulge to make pedestrians more visible.”
According to Lowrie, not all schools have 30 km/h zones around their sites, including Glenbrook Middle School, which backs onto McBride Boulevard.
“If you look around the Lower Mainland, most on major thoroughfares they fence the school grounds or they have made specific provisions for pedestrian crossings,” he said. “Typically they do not have pickup or drop-off locations on major roads.”
