The District of North Vancouver could soon be hiring paid crossing guards for elementary schools following an increase in appalling driving by parents.
A split council voted Feb. 11 for a one-year pilot project after hearing from parents and volunteers who’ve become fed up with parents causing near misses and dishing out abuse to volunteers.
Tara King, a volunteer with Cleveland Elementary’s traffic safety team, said she and the other two crossing guards who show up each day will not continue after this year and warned there likely aren’t others willing to step in and do the job.
“It’s not just the preponderance of illegal or unethical driving that makes the job difficult, or the endless amount of parking violations, … the work itself is extremely demoralizing. We are parents with no power and we are almost entirely women, which means we are routinely yelled at and dismissed,” she said. “I am done after this year. I need a break from the emotional labour that is caused by a few dangerous and bad actors.”
Rob Dale, traffic safety co-ordinator at Montroyal Elementary, said his school’s vice-principal stepped in and started directing traffic after some very close calls involving drivers and kids.
“Within those two weeks, she suffered insults and abuse and threats,” he said. “We have three to four significant incidents per drop-off and pick-up, so it’s not a matter of whether something’s going to happen, it’s a matter of when something’s going to happen. I’ve seen several children almost hit by cars. One of them came within about an inch of being run over.”
Laura Jamieson, Ross Road PAC chair, stressed that children’s safety outside schools should not be a “big ask.”
“Every week, I receive reports of parents almost hitting students as they speed down our narrow street or speak rudely to the few volunteers that we do have,” she said. “On the days we do not have a volunteer crossing guard, it is chaos. Parents double parking, zipping into the no-stopping areas to drop off their child right in front of the school. I personally witnessed a child almost get run over because a parent wanted to grab a parking spot that became available. This is unacceptable.”
Cost for school safety projects shouldn't be downloaded to municipalities, mayor says
When it came to a request for a staff report back on options prioritize safety improvements around schools with known issues, the vote was unanimous. The crossing guard pilot project was more divisive.
Introducing his motion to work with the North Vancouver School District, Coun. Jordan Back said it was not only necessary but long overdue. The City of North Vancouver pays for crossing guards at all five of its elementary schools, he noted.
“These aren’t just imaginary worries that we’re hearing. They’re the daily realities for families across our whole community, and as a parent of two young kids myself, I understand these concerns first hand every time I walk or bike with my children, which is daily. And as a district, I believe we have responsibility to act,” he said.
Coun. Catherine Pope voted against the pilot, arguing the district should go straight to full implementation, along with increased enforcement for violators and bans on dropping off kids within two blocks of their schools.
“Honestly, I’m just shocked to hear how bad it’s gotten, and about the increasing number of near misses and also the abuse, like, what is wrong with drivers today? I just don’t get it. It’s no wonder really people, in the end, are feeling afraid to let their kids walk to school, and that just makes the problem worse with more cars and more drop-offs” she said. “I don’t think it’s necessary. Little lives are at risk, and we cannot delay.”
Mayor Mike Little however said the district shouldn’t pursue the pilot until there had been a proper look into the funding sources and benefits.
“You are talking about costs… of over $500,000 by the time it’s all said and done per year going forward. Well, $500,000 can go towards fixing a lot of problems at a lot of schools. And this presupposes that the best solution to the problem is with crossing guards, and I’ve got to say, I don’t think it is in most cases,” he said, adding that school safety should be paid for by the Ministry of Education, not downloaded to municipalities. “I think the best solution to the problem is going to be through using speed bumps, changing the built form in and around (schools), using signage and other things to affect behaviour in those areas.”
Little did however take the occasion to call out the “culture problem” at the root of parents driving their kids to school in an otherwise safe community.
“I am wagging my finger at the parents. The parents, if they could, would drive right down the front hallway and drop their kid off at the classroom, and that is absolutely irresponsible behaviour,” he said.
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