March 18, 1998

To: Toronto Community Council

From: Andrew Koropeski, Director, Infrastructure Planning and Transportation, City Works Services

Subject: School Pick-up/Drop-off Zones (Wards 19 to 26 inclusive)

Purpose:

To provide information requested by the Toronto Community Council relating to student pick-up and drop-off activity, school bus loading and other parking and traffic concerns in the vicinity of schools.

Not applicable.

That this report be received for information.

Background:

Toronto Community Council, at its meeting of February 18, 1998, recommended approval of a report (February 2, 1998) entitled, AProvision of a School Bus Loading Zone and a Student Pick-up/Drop-off Zone in front of Huron Street Public School, No. 541 Huron Street@, and in addition requested that City Works Services report on the possibility of developing a general policy for parking in school bus zones. (Clause 55 in Toronto Community Council Report No. 2)

Comments:

Parking and other vehicular activity in the vicinity of school sites in Toronto are the subjects of on-going concerns at many locations. The majority of schools generate demands for student pick-up and drop-off (and the related traffic movements), school bus loading and in many cases, longer term parking for staff. Generally, space is very constrained and these activities cannot be accommodated on the sites. As such the school-generated traffic and parking are in direct competition for space with residents who rely on the streets for permit parking. The streets are usually narrow, leading to considerable traffic congestion during arrival and departure times.

Staff estimate that there are some 300 schools within the Toronto Community Council area, each with its own unique circumstances and demands. In addition, staff receive similar complaints from numerous independent daycare facilities. Each site has its own particular characteristics in terms of the adjacent street system, prevailing neighbourhood traffic controls, the school population (size, age distribution, propensity for parents to drive their children, etc), catchment area, bus activity and site configuration among others. These all lead to very different problems and available solutions when it comes to traffic and parking demands. This overview begins to provide an appreciation as to why a blanket policy on standard regulation treatment is not practical.

Rather than a standard solution, a process for assessing concerns at problem locations has evolved. As well, a number of standard regulatory measures are available which can be adapted for a particular location to deal with the local demands.

At present, within the Toronto Community Council area, parking is generally prohibited along the frontage/flankage of most schools for safety reasons, that is, to allow motorists a clear view of school children travelling to/from school. Most other municipal jurisdictions follow a similar practice. Under the provisions of the Highway Traffic Act, parents are allowed to temporarily halt their vehicles while actively engaged in picking-up/dropping-off their children in these parking prohibited areas. The issue arises when a parent leaves the vehicle unattended to accompany children into the school, at which time the vehicle becomes subject to parking enforcement. I note that some elementary schools and daycare facilities require that a parent/guardian must physically pick up the child from the facility, thereby requiring the parent to find parking facilities. As your Council is aware, in many areas of Toronto, alternative parking locations are either very limited or non-existent.

In addition to prohibiting parking, School Bus Loading Zones are established in front of schools. I note for your Council=s information that the purpose of a School Bus Loading Zone, under the provisions of the Highway Traffic Act, is to designate an area for the specific loading/unloading of school children by school buses. When such a zone is designated, school bus drivers are required to use the Zone and are exempted from using the red flashing lights on the school bus, thereby allowing traffic to pass, resulting in reduced congestion. Often, adjustments need to be made to the size of these zones bearing in mind changing demographics of a given school=s catchment area, changing enrollments over time and bus transportation patterns set by the local school board, all of which would contribute to an increase or decline in the number and/or size of school buses servicing a particular school. Because of the limited parking supply noted above, Works staff receive complaints about illegal parking within the School Bus Loading Zone hampering efficient and safe school bus operation.

In response to the above issues, City staff have devised a number of innovations which have proven successful in ameliorating problems associated with student/child pick-up and drop-off activities in the vicinity of schools and independent daycare facilities. These have included the signage of designated pick-up/drop-off areas (while maintaining the existing parking prohibitions) and the establishment of time-limited on-street parking privileges.

At present a request for parking control in the vicinity of a school is normally initiated by a senior official of the school or daycare facility, the Board of Education or by the Ward Councillor(s). Upon receipt of a request for a new or a change to an existing pick-up/drop-off zone and/or school bus loading zone, a meeting is held with a senior official of the school as well as with parents of students attending the school and/or interested area residents.

Once the appropriate consultation has taken place and a decision has been reached to implement or change a Student Pick-up/Drop-off Zone and/or School Bus Loading Zone, as an interim measure pending preparation of a report to change the parking prohibitions, advisory signage can be installed to make parents, area residents and police aware of the permissive loading activity or to direct parents away from using an existing School Bus Loading Zone. This signage delineates the area in front of the school but is not legally binding, however, when such signage is posted, the Parking Enforcement Unit of the Toronto Police Service will exercise greater discretion in tagging parents= vehicles. In some cases, the posting of this signage alone is sufficient to address the needs of the school.

When more stringent regulation is required, a Student Pick-up/Drop-off Zone is recommended to allow for 10 minute parking during a half hour to one hour period in the morning, at lunch time and at the end of the school day. This allows a parent to leave the vehicle unattended for a maximum period of ten minutes without the worry of being ticketed. A School Bus Loading Zone, is generally signed as ANo Parking@ during the daytime hours to eliminate the standing of all vehicles in the zone. In many cases, parking is not prohibited during the evening hours in order to accommodate the needs of area residents who may hold on-street overnight parking permits.

This process has been successful and provides for consultation and a test period for each zone prior to full implementation. Bearing in mind the need to retain flexibility in the above process to address the needs of individual schools and their neighbourhoods, and the resources that would be required to undertake a review of every school and daycare site, it is not feasible to establish a uniform solution dealing with the implementation of student pick-up and drop-off zones.

Accordingly, it is recommended that this process be continued.

The efficient allocation of limited curb space in the vicinity of Toronto schools and daycares to adequately accommodate student pick-up and drop-off, short stay parent parking and school buses, as well as neighbourhood parking and travel demands is a challenge at many locations in the Toronto Community Council area. The unique characteristics encountered at each location in terms of the adjacent street system, neighbourhood traffic controls, school population, etc., combined with the over 300 such sites in Toronto make the application of a blanket solution impractical. Rather than a standard solution, a process for addressing concerns at problem locations has evolved, and a number of regulatory measures (student pick-up/drop-off zones, 10 minute short term parking, school bus loading zones) are available which can be adapted for a particular site to address local demands.

Contact Name and Telephone Number:

Erin Holl (392-7892)

Co-ordinator - Transportation Operations Section

Director

EH/eh