City reviewing Hamilton schools for School Streets pilot project

Hamilton public schools are being reviewed for feasible School Streets pilot project locations, that would see streets around at least two schools closed to automobile traffic during student arrival and departure times next spring.

Goals include increasing active transportation, including walking and cycling to and from school, reducing traffic congestion, and pollution from vehicles.

Jessie Blake, a member of the Dundana elementary school council, said she heard about the upcoming pilot project and contacted Ontario Active School Travel, which awarded a $30,000 School Streets grant to the city, about nominating Dundana - at 23 Dundana Ave. between Old Ancaster Road and Lynden Avenue in Dundas.

I think there would be some complaining from parents and neighbours, but I do think we would be a good fit," Blake said.

Callaway Johnson, City of Hamilton school travel planner, did not respond to requests for information.

Organizers of a Kingston School Streets project, underway since September, are using their experience to assist the City of Hamilton.

Patricia Collins, Queen's University associate professor of urban and regional planning, got funding to analyze a School Streets project, along with a colleague at the University of Montreal. Both found a local partner to organize the project and Collins connected with Roger Healey of Kingston Coalition for Active Transportation (KCAT).

The project began the first day of school in September, closing a T-pattern of streets around a central Kingston school for 30 minutes at morning arrival and 30 minutes at afternoon departure.

There really isn't a school where there isn't a traffic congestion problem," Collins said. All the schools we approached were grappling with the problem."

Schools on arterial, collector or main transit routes were not ideal options. Schools where a large proportion of students are bused are also not best. The school chosen had strong support from the principal, and a grid pattern of roads around it.

It's very much a neighbourhood school," Collins said.

Healey said they went door-to-door in the closure zone in March, six months before implementation, to explain the project. People in the zone can come and go during the brief daily closures, but their vehicles are chaperoned" through the closed area by a volunteer.

Zoom meetings were held to share information. An email address set up for questions. Flyers and letters were delivered to neighbours and surrounding homeowners.

We made a distinct effort to make sure they all knew what was going on," Healey said.

When the project launched, it wasn't without some grumbling from drivers.

It's intended to change behaviour," Collins said, noting people aren't used to some control over how they come and go in their car.

After six weeks, a lot of student volunteers from Queens couldn't be available as exams approached. Healey said organizers decided to reduce the car-free area from the two-street T pattern to one street. It meant fewer volunteers were needed and fewer neighbours impacted.

If we started with one street, we wouldn't be able to expand it, but we were able to contract it," Healey said. I'm glad we did it the way we did it."

Collins said there was early concern from some parents. Eventually, the principal stopped getting complaints.

Collins noticed parents letting kids take more of their journey to and from school on their own.

That's one of the things we're trying to accomplish - increasing parents' confidence and kids' mobility," she said.

An early concern was temporary closures would just disperse traffic to other areas, and that is one of the issues Collins will look at in her analysis. She'll also look at whether it has the positive impact they expected. The project is scheduled to end after one full school year, in June 2022.

STORY BEHIND THE STORY: We wanted to learn more about potential impacts of local School Streets pilot projects.