A Cavan Monaghan Township resident, worried about student safety, is calling for changes to be made to the pedestrian crosswalk at the intersection of Sherbrooke Street and Longview Drive near Crestwood Secondary School and James Strath Public School.

Brian Taylor will voice his concerns at Monday’s township council meeting, when he plans to ask the township to replace the current yellow flashers with a red traffic light-like sign.

It’s part of an effort to improve visibility in the area.

“The biggest problem is at the end of the school day when traffic collides from several directions almost directly on top of the crosswalk,” states Taylor in his presentation to councillors

“Approximately 30 children use this crosswalk on a daily basis to walk home from Strath and Crestwood schools to the neighbourhood of Campbell Avenue/Longview Drive/Filman Crescent.

“With school now back in full force, this issue needs to be re-addressed before there is a public injury.”

Taylor would also like to see the location of the crosswalk re-examined and evaluated to ensure it is in the safest spot. He’s also proposing that parking be prohibited on Longview Drive to prevent cars turning back onto Sherbrooke Street from Longview.

The crosswalk was installed in the summer of 2019, reports Taylor. He said he contacted Cavan Monaghan Township several times that fall, and later, because too many vehicles were failing to stop.

The township installed some additional signs and night lights, but “this did not fix the issue,” Taylor said.

“While the location (of the crosswalk) would seem to make logical sense being directly in front of Crestwood, it is actually right at the centre of several opposing flows of traffic, all of which coalesce where the crosswalk is.”

One is at Longview Drive with parents dropping off or picking up their children from school before turning onto Sherbrooke Street.

One is the Crestwood west exit turning onto Sherbrooke; another is the Crestwood middle exit turning onto Sherbrooke, while another is the Crestwood/Strath shared exit for all school buses. Another is the typical east-west traffic on Sherbrooke Street.

“This results in drivers not paying attention or not being aware the crosswalk is activated,” Taylor said.

In his presentation, Taylor said he also wants to see the Crestwood west exit reserved for left turns only, away from the crosswalk, and the Crestwood east exit used solely for right turns, also away from the crosswalk.

A crossing guard should be present at the end of the school day, Taylor asserts, but notes both of these suggestions would fall under the responsibility of the Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board.

Brendan Burke is a staff reporter at the Examiner, based in Peterborough. His reporting is funded by the Canadian government through its Local Journalism Initiative.

Brendan Burke, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Peterborough Examiner