Development ServicesCommittee
	TO:	Mayor and Members of Council
	FROM:	Alan Brown, Director of Engineering
	PREPARED BY:	David Porretta, Engineering Technician
	DATE OF MEETING:	2003-Oct-14
	SUBJECT:	School Crossing Guard Service - Wootten Way South at Senator Reesor's Drive (north leg)

RECOMMENDATION:

THAT the Human Resources Department be authorized to establish school crossing guard service at the intersection of Wootten Way South and the north leg of Senator Reesor’s Drive.

AND THAT the Human Resources Department be authorized to remove the school crossing guard service at the intersection of Highway 7 and Wootten Way.

AND THAT the Roads Department be directed to install school crossing signs and crosswalk pavement markings at the Wootten Way South/Senator Reesor’s Drive (north leg) and remove the existing school crossing signs at Highway 7/Wootten Way South upon approval of the by-law.

PURPOSE:

This report recommends that the existing crossing guard service at the location of Highway 7/Wootten Way South be relocated to the intersection of Wootten Way/Senator Reesor’s Drive (north leg).

BACKGROUND:

A number of residents have been in contact with Councillor Jack Heath and the Traffic Division requesting a crossing guard at the intersection of Wootten Way South and the north leg of Senator Reesor’s Drive. Residents are concerned that the students are not able to safely cross Wootten Way South due to the heavy traffic volume. The students crossing at this location attend William Armstrong Public School. There is an existing crossing guard at the intersection of Wootten way South and the South leg of Senator Reesor’s Drive.

OPTIONS/DISCUSSION:

The intersection of Wootten Way South and Senator Reesor’s Drive is a T-intersection, with sidewalks on the north and west side of the intersection (Attachment A). Wootten Way South is a collector street, which experiences an average daily traffic volume of approximately 5000 Vehicles. Senator Reesor’s Drive is a local street with an average daily traffic volume of 550 Vehicles. The students are crossing Wootten Way, on the north side of the intersection. Which coincides with the location of the existing sidewalks.

Warrants for Crossing Guard

Warrants for adult crossing guards are established by the Ministry of Transportation and the Ontario Traffic Conference. The Ministry of Transportation and Ontario Traffic Conference warrant for school crossing guard service considers the length of the gap in traffic and the number of gaps available during school hours. A safe gap is a break in traffic that permits sufficient time for a child to safely cross a road. When there frequently exists 5-minute intervals where at least 4 safe gaps are available, in each interval, then an adult crossing guard is not warranted.

Crossing Guard Warranted at Wootten Way South/Senator Reesor (north leg)

To determine the need for school crossing guard service at a given location, the Traffic Division conducted a gap time study at the intersection of Wootten Way South and the north leg of Senator Reesor’s Drive (Attachment B). Using the warrant criteria, the study results indicated that there were several intervals at school peak times when sufficient gaps were not available for students to cross at Wootten Way South/Senator Reesor's Drive (north leg). Therefore crossing guard service at this location is warranted.

Crossing Guard not required at Highway #7/Wootten Way

In addition to the gap study, an observational study during the same time period was conducted at the intersection of Highway 7 and Wootten Way to assess the need for the existing crossing guard service at this location. Only adults and high school students were observed crossing at this intersection. Representatives from both the school Board and the individual schools located on the north and south side of Highway #7 (William Armstrong P.S and Reesor Park P.S) have confirmed that there are no students that need to cross Highway #7 to attend these schools. Because there are no elementary school children observed crossing, the school crossing guard is not required. The existing traffic control signal provides safe opportunities for high school students.

It is therefore recommended that the existing crossing guard service at the location of Highway 7/Wootten Way South be relocated to the intersection of Wootten Way/Senator Reesor’s Drive (north leg).

FINANCIAL CONSIDERATIONS:

There are no additional financial implications in relocating the school crossing guard service. The cost of labour and materials to install the signs and pavement markings are accounted for in the 2003 budget for the Operations and Asset Management Department.

BUSINESS UNITS CONSULTED AND AFFECTED:

Subject to Council’s approval, the Operations and Asset Management Department will install the proper signage and pavement markings for the proposed Crossing Guard at the intersection of Wootten Way South/Senator Reesor’s Drive (north leg) and remove the signs at Highway 7/Wootten Way South.

ATTACHMENTS:

A - Location Map

B - Gap Study Results

Alan Brown, C.E.T. Director of Engineering

Jim Baird, M.C.I.P., R.P.P. Commissioner of Development Services

_____________________________________

Roberta Watt,

Director of Human Resources

P:\Development\Engineering\REPORTS\2003\10\Wootten Way @ Senator Reesor (n leg) CROSSING GUARD.doc