The Parent Advisory Council for Hans Helgesen Elementary School near Victoria wanted to solve pedestrian safety issues on Rocky Point Road. The Council was working with the District of Metchosin and wanted to have a marked crosswalk installed at that road’s intersection with Windover Terrace. The District was reluctant to do this.
The PAC approached HASTeBC for assistance and they referred me to the
school’s principal to see if I could contribute to a solution. The
principal was very kind and kept me up to date on the group’s efforts as
the collaboration progressed.
The PAC next considered the permanent installation of a solar powered
speed reader board to try and slow traffic on Rocky Point Road instead
of the marked crosswalk.
District of Metchosin’s planner provided guidance on how to proceed with
the request in order to present it to council and satisfy them that it
was an appropriate solution to the problems that the PAC had identified.
Parents at the school had participated in the CRD’s Active & Safe Routes to School initiative.
At this point, School District 62 took what is probably the best
approach for a situation like this. The district commissioned a traffic
study, conducted by the Watt Consulting Group, to survey the situation
and provide an informed solution.
While this is not the least expensive approach, it does provide a
professional examination of all the issues involved along with solutions
that are justifiable in the context of current traffic engineering
values.
The study found problems with traffic speeds and parking as well as
parents using inappropriate locations to drop their children off for
school.
Solutions included reconfiguration of the school parking lot. This would
improve bus movements and traffic circulation so that students could be
dropped off more efficiently. Parents would have less incentive to park
and drop off children where they should
not do so.
Changes to signage were recommended to increase the awareness of the
school property itself for passing drivers. The thought being that if
drivers knew the school was adjacent to the road they were driving on,
they might choose to comply with the signs.
Implicit in the report were references to the control of parking off of
school property. Installation of curbing would limit a driver’s ability
to park on the side of Rocky Point Road and parking on Windover Terrace
was identified as presenting safety issues.
Story URL:
https://www.drivesmartbc.ca/schools-and-playgrounds/solving-school-traffic-problems
—
Constable Tim Schewe (Retired)
DriveSmartBC: Where better than average drivers satisfy their curiosity.