Wellesley council approves removal of two school crossing guards, one in the Village of Wellesley and one in Linwood

Decision comes after region installs nearby all-way stops

By Galen Simmons, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

There will be two fewer crossing guards to help Wellesley Township children walk to school in September after council recently approved the removal of one crossing guard from the Village of Wellesley and another from Linwood.

At the July 8 Wellesley council meeting, council approved the staff recommendation to remove two crossing guard positions, the first on Manser Road at Alfred Street in Linwood and the second at Nafziger Road and Maple Leaf Street in the Village of Wellesley.

“The region has improved the infrastructure with the use of all-way stops for pedestrians along the routes,” said Wellesley director of public works Chris Cook. “The decision is supported by data collected through (traffic) gap studies and staff have been in consultation with (Student Transportation Services of Waterloo Region) and (Waterloo Region District School Board), and they’re both in support of the recommendation as long as there’s a comprehensive transition plan.”

To enhance pedestrian and driver safety, the Region of Waterloo recently installed all-way stops enroute to the two crossing-guard positions to be eliminated in Linwood and the Village of Wellesley. All-way stops have recently been installed at Manser Road and Ament Line in Linwood and Queen’s Bush Road and Nafziger Road in Wellesley.

The all-way stops provide a safe crossing all day, every day, not just while a crossing guard is on duty, and Cook said township staff feel encouraging education of safe crossing at the all-way stops at both locations will keep pedestrians safer during and outside of school hours.

While Cook said both the Waterloo Region District School Board (WRDSB) and Student Transportation Services of Waterloo Region (STSWR) have agreed with the rationale behind removing these crossing-guard locations, they want to ensure adequate notice and education about the change be passed on to the parents of school-aged children in the area well in advance of the start of school in September.

Township staff have already begun working with Wellesley Public School and Linwood District Public School to help the township inform all parents of the change and the proposed alternatives. STSWR will also update its walking-path maps on its website to reflect the approved changes.

“I didn’t get talking to as many people as maybe I would have liked to on this one, but one of the concerns I heard was that if the (crosswalk) lines remain and the signs remain, kids are going to cross (at the previous crossing) anyway because that’s the most direct route, up towards the old (Wellesley) arena and through,” Coun. Derek Brick said regarding the new school walking route in the Village of Wellesley. “ … Yes, we can direct them to the four-way stop at the intersection, but that’s the preferred route and you’re going get people going (the old) way.”

“I think it’s the preferred route because it’s the route that they take currently,” Cook responded. “I don’t believe that it’s any longer to go to the four-way stop. I think it’s the exact same amount of steps, I think you’d find if you paced it off. For us, it’s more about education and that’s where that transition plan comes in, communicating it through the schools and (having township staff) onsite during that first week of school.”

While Coun. Lori Sebben asked whether parents in the areas affected by this change had been consulted prior to staff bringing this report to council, Cook said only the school board and STSWR had been asked for input.

Brick later asked whether the decision could be deferred until parents were given a chance to provide their feedback.

“The reason that I didn’t seek public input in the first place was I have a pretty good idea of the input that we’re going to receive,” Cook said. “The input that I think we’re going to receive is probably going to be that we keep the crossing guards, but I don’t think that’s in the best interest of the township and the rest of the taxpayers, and I don’t believe we’re putting the students or other pedestrians in any kind of danger by removing them. The crosswalk will still be there; they just don’t have a crossing guard for that hour before and after school to physically say when to go across the road.

“Cars are still required to stop, there’s a safe route there and if we can get pedestrians in the habit of using the all-way stop, it’s going to provide a safer crossing for much-longer period of time.”

Brick ultimately voted against eliminating the crossing-guard positions while the rest of council voted in favour.