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Resident asks for more traffic enforcement near Orangeville District Secondary School

October 19, 2023   ·   0 Comments

By JAMES MATTHEWS

A serious look needs to be taken at student-traffic safety near Orangeville District Secondary School.

Fead Street resident Noel Ramsey told council when it met Oct. 16 that the number of elementary school students who walk in the area of ODSS and the lack of sidewalks there pose a safety risk.

He’s concerned about safety in the no-stopping zones around schools in the area of the high school. Princess Elizabeth Public School, which has students from Junior Kindergarten to Grade 8, is nearby.

Ramsey said the elementary school children walk through the ODSS high school area, where there are no sidewalks.

“And there’s a lot of no-stopping signs where there are many cars that are parking,” he said.

Ramsey said he’s raised the issue a number of times with the municipality.

He asked council if he could be given some type of update on the progress made to address the safety concerns that are different than what’s been attempted in the past.

David Smith, the town’s CAO, said municipal bylaw enforcement staff have been in the neighbourhood “as they are on site throughout all the schools in our system.”

He said a number of traffic tickets were recently issued.

“I myself have been on site three time and have observed the parking,” Smith said.

A new supervisor of bylaw enforcement has been appointed.

“I do note that we have a number of schools in our community and our anecdotal experience from our bylaw officers that are out regularly is that the school in Mr. Ramsey’s neighbourhood is lower on the priority list than some of the other situations,” Smith said.

Ramsey said his neighbourhood is unique in that there are elementary school children being dismissed and walking through the high school’s pickup and drop-off area.

“That does not exist anywhere else in Orangeville,” Ramsey said. “The risk is not high school students getting hit (by a car). It’s elementary school (children) getting hit.”

These are little children walking hand-in-hand, he said. He’s witnessed parents walking with school-aged children while pushing a stroller, and the kids aren’t holding hands.

“We can’t force parents to make sure that they’re tied together,” Ramsey said. “I’ve got pictures of these kids on the road, walking between cars. No sidewalks on this road, and there are cars parked on both sides while buses are going between those cars with kids on the road.”

He said perhaps bylaw enforcement officers need to be more forceful with drivers. More tickets need to be issued as opposed to warnings.

Ramsey said on many occasions, officers show up and speak to drivers before waving them on.

He’s aware of one bylaw officer who asked 40 drivers over a week and a half to move on without issuing a single ticket.

“That’s from the bylaw officer himself,” he said. “Since that happened, I have come forward and asked for something different to be done.”

Mayor Lisa Post said new team members have been added to the bylaw enforcement department, and the town is continuing to monitor the traffic situation in the ODSS area.

“We’re continuing to adjust our practices as necessary,” Post said.

“Are we advising them [officers] to issue tickets rather than warnings?” Ramsey asked.

“We don’t get directly involved with bylaw enforcement,” Smith said. “We don’t direct them to do something specific. I know Mr. Ramsey believes that I do. I don’t.”

Smith said he leaves the work of bylaw enforcement up to the expertise and judgement of the enforcement staff. Those officers visit the areas of all schools in town.

Deputy Mayor Todd Taylor said the wishes of neighbourhood residents need to be considered before meaningful research into sidewalks can commence.

“I know what the engineers would say,” Taylor said. “They would say that there’s not a need for a sidewalk. Sometimes that doesn’t matter. It matters about the people that live in that area and what they deem as necessary.”

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