Of all the points of traffic congestion Powell River residents currently contend with, and will continue to see more of due to the residential development boom, the area around Brooks Secondary School in Townsite is the latest to be brought before City of Powell River council.
The high school with a student body of about 750, an elementary school, a daycare and major transit stops are all located within approximately two square blocks. For some in the community, it is an accident waiting to happen.
A campaign around concern for student and public safety at Brooks and Henderson Elementary School that began with parents and educators is now in the hands of the city to determine the best solution for the problem.
Henderson teacher Annita Molenaar emailed Brooks principal Bill Rounis in April about a stop sign she felt was needed at the corner of Hemlock Street and Willow Avenue because of a close call during a student field trip to Brooks.
“When I went to see a performance with a class from Henderson, we were crossing Hemlock Street, thinking it was safe, when a car came down Hemlock so fast that it skidded when the driver hit the brakes,” said Molenaar.
Rounis said he is advocating on parents’ behalf and spoke to city councillor Jim Palm, who addressed the issue to council at the May 1 committee of the whole meeting.
“It’s a non-issue for most of the day,” said Palm, who is also an educator at Brooks, “but when school is clearing out in the afternoon at 3:15 pm it’s heavily congested. With traffic now cutting through the subdivision above, it becomes an issue of safety for youngsters in the vicinity.”
Timberlane Estates is located above Brooks. Hemlock is the loop street that rings the subdivision and has an unmarked speed limit.
“If someone barrels down there at the wrong time and is not thinking it would not be a pretty sight,” said Palm.
Rounis said there have been a few occasions when students about to cross at intersections have had to be hesitant.
Also, there is additional traffic from a daycare just above Brooks, which is directly across from where the proposed three-way stop at Hemlock and Willow would be installed, according to Palm.
“Right across and adjacent to that is a daycare above Brooks,” said Palm, “so people are streaming out of that parking lot as well at the same time as the bus is parked on Hemlock. It’s very restrictive.”
Palm added that 30-kilometre per hour speed limits through school zones are being ignored and failing to slow drivers down.
Prior to the final school bell at Brooks, Roots and Wings Early Learning Centre’s parking lot fills up with parents parking, sometimes idling their vehicles, to pick up their high school children, despite the daycare’s parking lot being marked with signage designating that the space is only for Roots and Wings use.
“We have a handful of parents who pick up at the same time so it creates congestion for them,” said Roots and Wings owner Maggie Ellwyn. “Furthermore, it becomes a safety concern for the children exiting the daycare with their families. Efforts to communicate with the parents and voice our concerns for the daycare children’s safety effects zero change.”
