Parking Concerns Meeting with Howard Moscoe

Meeting Date: January 22, 2008

In Attendance:
Howard Moscoe
Jack Sinopoli
Bob Cott
Howard Goodman (trustee)
Trina Byrne
Tony Minchella
Mr. Pagano (parent)
Mary Whittaker

Discussion centred on student safety and the negative impact on this safety from cars parked on Briar Hill Ave. to either drop off or pick-up children.

Several possible solutions were discussed, including: a bus layby, cut-outs of children attached to parking pylons, assemblies to enlist students' help in discouraging parents, no stopping signs, signs directed to parents, snow-removal from roadway, Walk-a-Block program, moving the sidewalk, creating a boulevard, etc.

Some changes involved changing by-laws.

Proposed solution:
- make the area on both sides of the street in front of the school a "No Stopping" zone patrolled on a daily basis by police (or Parking Authority);
- make a very small 15 minute parking area to the west of the bus loading zone
- move the present sidewalk north and create a boulevard between the sidewalk and the road. (During the winter, the boulevard would be used to collect snow ploughed from the road.) This would also involve moving the current fence surrounding school property from city land to school land.

Howard Goodman suggested identifying parents who are contributing to the parking problems in order to have individual conversations with them. He also suggested identifying those parents who had expressed concern for student safety due to parking to enlist their support, (the school’s allies).