City of Powell River councillors heard concerns from James Thomson Elementary School parent advisory committee (PAC) members regarding busing safety in the city. At the April 15 committee of the whole meeting, PAC members Chloe Smith and Rachel Harriman gave a presentation regarding student safety.
“Our role as PAC members is to ensure the safety of the children attending schools in qathet School District within the city,” said Smith. “We’re here to advocate on their behalf.”
Harriman provided some background on efforts made to create safety for children. She said Townsite Ratepayers Association had written a letter to the school district regarding speeding of the school bus in the 30-kilometres-per-hour zone on Maple Avenue. There also was an email from James Thomson parents to the school district regarding safety concerns at the school bus stop on Poplar Street, which is on an active logging route, adjacent to a complicated five-way intersection, she added.
Harriman said the school district changed the route of bus number seven, with the stop moving from Maple Avenue to Marine Avenue, and the bus stop from Poplar Street to Ash Avenue, without consultation or communication with the James Thomson PAC.
“Changes created further safety concerns,” said Harriman.
The James Thomson PAC sent a letter requesting rationale and information for the changes in route and bus stop location, and the school district responded that road safety is within the jurisdiction of the city, said Harriman.
She said they were asking for city support, given they hold jurisdiction over local infrastructure, including the roads.
Smith said the change in bus stop location to Ash Avenue poses pedestrian crossing challenges at two complicated intersections, including the three-way stop at Ash and Poplar and the five-way intersection at Poplar, Aspen Avenue, Willow Avenue and Lombardy Avenue.
“Children must now cross an official and active logging route twice a day across these above-mentioned intersections,” said Smith “The change in bus route from Maple to Marine Avenue now no longer utilizes the safer street improvements of reduced speed to 30-kilometres-per-hour. There is a lack of coordination and communication between qathet School District and the City of Powell River to review and collaborate on addressing road safety opportunities and establishing safe bus routes and stops. Those are our concerns.”
Harriman outlined the PAC’s request, including to ask for the city’s commitment to address road safety, specifically for children going to and from schools in Powell River. The second was to request that communication and collaboration is fostered between the city and school district regarding all modes of travel for children to schools, including: buses, motor vehicles, bikes, scooters, skateboards and walking.
Smith presented a suggested motion: to request that the city conduct a road safety review/assessment regarding school bus routes and bus stop safety: specifically, the school bus number seven through Townsite, including the three-way stop intersection, the five-way stop intersection and active logging road, and the location of the bus stop at Henderson Park.
Councillor Earl Almeida said he did not know if this was a city council matter.
Smith said in the PAC’s attempt to clarify why the safe street improvement was not used for the bus, the school district directed the PAC to city council, indicating that road safety is a city issue.
Councillor Cindy Elliott said while general safety on city streets is the city’s jurisdiction, the routes and stops of the school bus are not.
“We don’t choose those; the school district chooses those,” said Elliott. “I would have hoped the upgrading of Maple would have provided opportunities to move bus stops to Maple, maybe even in similar spots as the city bus, to take advantage of the safer Maple Street,” said Elliott. “Have you considered putting specific requests about where you would like the route and stops to be, as opposed to just saying where you do not want them to be?”
Smith said that was the case and it has led them to make a formal complaint to the school district about the process, and not having been involved in where the new bus stop is now. She said the response has been that road safety is a city issue.
Elliott said the choosing of the locations of the bus stops is entirely up to the school district and the city doesn’t have a role in that as far as she understands.
Councillor and committee chair Rob Southcott said this seems like a failure in communication.
Councillor George Doubt said there hasn’t been an opportunity for the PAC members to sit down with city and school district officials and talk about an appropriate bus route.
“This isn’t a solution that is going to be solved by one person saying it is the other person’s problem, and never getting together,” said Doubt. “There’s a real need for the city, the parents and the school district to get together and talk about how to do it.”
Smith said they would welcome that.
Councillor Trina Isakson said her interest was to help facilitate a conversation, because this is an issue of communication breakdown. She made a motion to direct staff to engage the school district and James Thomson PAC leadership in exploring possible paths forward for safety for students. The motion carried unanimously.
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