Council put the breaks on the Township’s recommendation to discontinue Nottawa’s school crossing guard on Monday night – to rousing applause from safety-concerned parents.
A recent study of school crossings by the Township resulted in approvals for guards at Nottawasaga and Creeemore Public School (at County Road 9 and Jardine Crescent), and at New Lowell Central Public School (at County Road 9 and Lamers Road) next year.
However, Nottawa Elementary School’s crossing on County Road 124 between Batteaux Road and Queen Street, did not pass the test because it didn’t meet the criteria for Clearview’s School Crossing Guard Policy.
The policy states there must be a minimum of 10 students using the crossing in a half-hour period before or after school. There must also be at least four 22- to 24-second vehicle-free gaps occuring every five-minutes for half the crossing time.
On three occasions during the study, Township staff noticed that Nottawa did not have a minimum of 10 pedestrians crossing at one time during the allotted half hour.
However, two parents who spoke during the Public Participation period implored Council to reconsider the recommendation.
“We need a safe way for kids to cross,” said Nottawa resident, Dave Farness. “You’re told to teach your children how to cross, which is fine, but you can’t teach drivers how to drive.”
Farness, who works as an electrician, illustrated his point by making a parallel between road and electrical safety.
“You’re telling me that if I was going to a wire a school, and there were 30 kids in one class and 5 or 6 in another class, I don’t need to worry about putting on cover plates for the smaller class. Instead, I just need to teach them not to stick stuff in the hole? That doesn’t make sense to me.”
Farness added that icy roads and eight-foot high snowbanks pose additional risk factors for crossing County Road 124 during the winter.
Councillor Doug Measures, who represents Ward 1, which includes Nottawa, agreed. “There is an absolute need for a crossing guard on 124,” he said.
In a unanimous vote, Council granted Nottawa a crossing guard for a one-year trial period for the 2014/2015 school year.
Crossing guards are positioned at each school for half an hour in the morning and in the afternoon each, at a cost of $4,082 per year.
“It is all worth it if it saves the life of one child,” summed up Robert Walker, Councillor for Ward 5.