Establishment of a Student Pick-up/ Drop-off Zone -

Poplar Plains Road, East Side, From Lynwood Avenue

to Clarendon Avenue (Midtown)

The Toronto Community Council recommends that:

(1)the following report (October 7, 1999) from the Director, Transportation Services, District 1 be adopted; and

(2)Poplar Plains Road, from Davenport Road to St. Clair Avenue West be given high priority for designation as a permanent Community Safety Zone upon completion and contingent upon the success of the ongoing trial project of community safety zones.

The Toronto Community Council submits the following report (October 7, 1999) from the Director, Transportation Services District 1:

Purpose:

To respond to a request from Midtown Councillors John Adams and Ila Bossons, on behalf of Brown Public School, to report to the Toronto Community Council on a plan to establish a student pick-up/drop-off zone on the east side of Poplar Plains Road, in the vicinity of the school.

Funding Sources, Financial Implications and Impact Statement:

Funds to undertake the necessary signage and pavement marking adjustments and installation of bollards (if necessary) in the estimated amount of $5000.00 are contained in the Transportation Services Division 1999 Operating Budget.

Recommendations:

(1)That the existing bicycle lane next to the curb on the east side of Poplar Plains Road, between Lynwood Avenue and Clarendon Avenue (west branch), be rescinded;

(2)That parking be permitted to a maximum period of 15 minutes on the east side of Poplar Plains Road, between Lynwood Avenue and Clarendon Avenue (west branch), from 8:15 a.m. to 9:00 a.m., from 11:15 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. and from 3:15 p.m. to 4:00 p.m., Monday to Friday;

(3)That the existing "No Stopping at Anytime" regulation on the east side of Poplar Plains Road, between Lynwood Avenue and Clarendon Avenue (west branch), be adjusted to operate at all other times except those times cited in Recommendation (2) above;

(4)That the existing "No Stopping" regulation on the west side of Poplar Plains Road, between Lynwood Avenue and Clarendon Avenue (west branch), currently in effect from 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. and from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. be adjusted to operate from 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m., from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. and from 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m., Monday to Friday; and

(5)That the appropriate City Officials be requested to take whatever action is necessary to give effect thereto, including the introduction in Council of any Bills that are required.

Comments:

At the request of Midtown Councillors John Adams and Ila Bossons, on behalf of Brown Public School, Transportation Services' staff have reviewed traffic conditions on Poplar Plains Road in order to report to Toronto Community Council on the feasibility of establishing a student pick-up/drop-off zone in the vicinity of the school.

Poplar Plains Road, between Clarendon Avenue (west branch) and Lynwood Avenue (fronting Brown Public School), is a collector street operating one-way northbound on a pavement width of 6.1 m with a speed limit of 40 kilometres per hour. A 2 m wide bicycle lane has been established on the east side of Poplar Plains Road, from Davenport Road to St. Clair Avenue West, and in conjunction with the bicycle lane, stopping is prohibited at anytime. On the west side, stopping is prohibited from 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. and from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m., Monday to Friday, and a parking is otherwise prohibited at anytime. Observations conducted by staff have confirmed that many parents, while dropping off/picking up their children destined to the school, as well as school bus drivers, routinely ignore the "No Stopping" regulation and park in the bicycle lane, creating a potentially dangerous situation. Further, many of the vehicles belonging to parents are receiving parking tags while they are illegally parked as parents escort their children to/from the school building.

There is insufficient pavement width under current conditions to provide sufficient road space for parking while providing a bicycle lane to the outside of a parking lane on the east side of the roadway and maintaining a travel lane for northbound traffic. The minimum acceptable pavement width required for a combined bicycle lane and a curbside parking lane is 3.8 m, which if implemented would leave a very substandard driving lane width of 2.3 m. The creation of a physical lay-by on the east side of Poplar Plains Road (i.e., widening the street ) for a student pick-up and drop-off zone was also investigated but presented a number of problems as follows:

i)the removal of a number of mature trees;

ii)the relocation of a number of catch basins;

iii)the relocation of the existing sidewalk; and

iv)adjustments would have to be made to access to underground facilities such as water and gas mains.

While it is technically feasible to construct a lay-by, the cost of doing so would be in excess of $100,000, funds for which would have to be provided by the Toronto District School Board. In addition, the creation of a lay-by would preclude the installation of speed humps on this stretch of Poplar Plains Road, something which is currently under study by staff.

An alternative to resolve the situation, which was discussed with and supported by Councillors Adams and Bossons, would be to "remove" the designated bicycle lane for the blocks between Clarendon Avenue (west branch) and Lynwood Avenue, thus allowing for the creation of a Student Pick-up/ Drop-off zone to operate during peak pick-up/drop-off times and to post bicycle route signage in place of the bicycle lane signage. I note, however, that the space along the curb would continue to function as a de facto bicycle lane (perhaps demarcated by a dashed line rather than the solid line currently in place) during the remainder of the day when the above-mentioned zone is not in effect. The current "No Stopping" regulation on the west side of the roadway should be adjusted to cover the loading zone operating times on the east side of the street. During the times of operation of the loading zone, it is suggested that parking be permitted to a maximum period of 15 minutes, instead of the usual 10 minutes, which has been implemented for many other schools, as the walking distance to the school building is substantially greater than with many other schools. This should allow parents sufficient time to escort their children into the school while still ensuring parking turnover.

In order to reinforce the proposed "No Stopping" regulation on the west side of Poplar Plains Road, in this area it may become necessary to install bollards to prevent motorists from parking contrary to the regulations (and partially parking over the existing sidewalk as has been observed) and thus severely restricting the travel lane of the roadway. However, enhanced enforcement of the parking/stopping regulations on the west side during the times of day when the pick-up/drop-off zone is provided on the east side, could negate the necessity to install bollards, thereby saving considerable funds and preserving the ability for area residents to engage in loading/unloading activities on the west side of the roadway during the times of the day when the student pick-up/drop-off regulations are not in effect.

Contact Name and Telephone Number:

Michael J. Harris,

Supervisor of Traffic Engineering,

District 1, Central Area.

(416) 392-7711