The hustle and bustle outside of Ecole Marie Poburan on any given school day is typical of what you might find at every other school in St. Albert.
Nothing about the scene would indicate that not too long ago, there was a tragic traffic fatality outside the school that claimed the life of one of its students.
But from that tragedy in September 2013 came many concrete changes aimed at making the roads around that school – and schools all across the city – safer for everyone.
The city of St. Albert commissioned the Safe Journeys to School report, which was presented to council in the spring of 2015. The 864-page report outlined many recommendations, some directed at the city itself, some directed at the school boards in St. Albert, and some site-specific recommendations for particular schools.
City transportation manager Dean Schick said most of the recommendations directed at city administration are included in a six-year plan and the vast majority of them will be completed by 2021. Some recommendations have already been completed.
“A lot of the higher-priority actions were attempted to be addressed in 2015 even, and identified for action in 2016,” he said.
Some of the changes put in place last year are apparent to motorists in school zones, which is precisely the intent. The main goal of the changes the city is looking at is to enhance visibility and notification, so drivers are always aware they’re entering school zones, and this has been achieved in several ways.
Among the more obvious changes are flashing signs at school zone sites, with each of the 26 school zones in the city having at minimum two flashing notification signs letting drivers know they’re in a school zone.
“We are facing some issues with some of the equipment at the sites, but this is what happens when you order a large quantity,” Schick said.
The signs are solar-powered, he explained, and there have been some issues with the batteries maintaining the charges, but he expects those problems will be rectified early in 2017.
The city has also started a pilot project for some improved road markings, which can be seen in the school zones along Sir Winston Churchill Avenue – bright paint on the roadway itself.
“This isn’t something specifically identified through the Safe Journeys to School program, but is something that was spurred from it,” Schick said. “Those seem to be having good impact. We’re getting some improved notice out to road users.”
These are coupled with digital signs that show approaching drivers how fast they’re going, which he said has also had a positive impact on drivers.
“It seems to encourage proper driving speed, so we’ll look at expanding that and bringing those to other school sites as well,” he said.
Some of the changes involve engineering crosswalks differently. The city’s looking at pedestrian curb extensions, which would bring the sidewalk out past the parking lane at crosswalks. In this way pedestrians on the sidewalk can get a better look at oncoming traffic with clear lines of sight – rather than having to peek out from around parked cars.
Another pilot the city started in 2016 is the use of rectangular rapid flashing beacon crossings, which differ from the traditional amber flashing lights at crosswalks by using a different sequence of flashing with the intention of being more visible to drivers. An example of this project can be seen by Muriel Martin School along Deer Ridge Drive.
As for 2017, Schick said the city would continue with much of the work it’s doing – expanding the use of the curb extensions and working to improve signage to give parents clear direction about pickup locations around schools.
There will also be some expansion of the successful pilot programs, including the digital display speed signs.
While the city’s work is instrumental in realizing the goals of the Safe Journeys to School, much of the work is being done within school divisions and at individual school sites.
Greater St. Albert Catholic school division Supt. David Keohane said the division implemented about two thirds of the recommendations in the first year, and after the second year they’ve got about 80 per cent of the recommendations in place.
While the division works with the city to implement many of the changes Schick described, much of the work the school division does is related to encouraging better driver behaviour – both within school pickup and drop off locations, and around the school sites.
Some examples include encouraging active modes of transportation such as walking and cycling, and encouraging more use of the school bus system. Despite this, Keohane said he acknowledges parental choice is a big factor in how kids get to school, and with busy lives it’s not always possible to get out of the car.
But even among those who do choose to purchase bus passes, often those bus seats are empty and parents choose to drive their children regardless.
“We just remind people that part of the congestion dilemma, and people are concerned about that, what contributes to that is we have seats on buses that are purchased that aren’t actually being used,” he said.
Knowing many parents will choose to drive their children to and from school, Keohane said the division works to emphasize the safe zones for picking up and dropping off students to mitigate the potential effects of that congestion.
“Instead of creating congestion in front of schools where buses may be, we’re designating an area that’s removed from the congestion where students can be dropped off and picked up,” he said.
The communication about safety as it relates to traffic goes out in many forms, from emails and newsletters to word of mouth through groups like local school councils.
“We believe that spreading word of mouth from leaders within the community and people with a vested interest in our community is a powerful way of sharing the next bit of news to get passed on to the community,” he said.
And something as simple as scheduling can also have a significant effect on reducing congestion around school sites, especially those with several schools in one area.
Elementary, junior-high and high schools have their start and end-times staggered, ultimately resulting in fewer pickups and drop offs happening all at once.
“This was so we don’t create this mass congestion of students,” Keohane said. “There has been some intentionality in having staggered dismissal times, dedicated to the goal of actually reducing the congestion.”
This is coupled with a long-standing practice of having individual school buses do multiple runs – picking up and dropping off elementary students, then junior high students, then high-school students – to further reduce that congestion.
St. Albert Public Schools associate superintendent Michael Brenneis said many of the recommendations the division has implemented are similar to those Keohane described – increased signage, enhanced visibility and education.
“In places where they did suggest increased signage, we tried to jump fairly quickly on that,” he said. “Those ones tend to … have a firm, immediate impact to people.”
With the educational component, he said the process is not something that will necessarily finish but is ongoing, repetitive messages about safety that go out in September and throughout the year.
Brenneis said for the most part parents have been very supportive of the division’s efforts, and even if there is some frustration in some cases, there’s an understanding of the importance of the issue.
“It’s a growing city and we’re starting to deal with more traffic congestion than we have in the past,” he said. “It’s an issue that will not go away.”
One of the ways both divisions try to address the issue of congestion on the streets and increase safety is to designate existing St. Albert Transit stops as school bus pickup and drop-off spots.
The benefit in this case is that the transit stops are already set up for picking up and dropping off, and drivers know what to expect.
“That provides a bit of consistency in terms of pickup,” he said. “Whether it’s a city transit stop or the bus stop, the commuter in the vehicle gets used to seeing pedestrians there.”
The full Safe Journeys to School report, along with the city’s work plan through to 2021, can be found at www.stalbert.ca/safejourneys.
