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How do we get a School Crossing
Guard?
I am often asked how the City decides which school
crossing get a crossing guard. There is a procedure that is followed when
we receive a request to install a guard.
School Crossing Guards are employed by the City of
Mississauga to cross students age kindergarten to Grade 5 at locations where
students cross that meet the warrant criteria for the implementation of a
school crossing.
In Mississauga, Traffic Safety Council is the body
charged with the responsibility for determining if the warrants are met for
school crossing guard placement. On-site inspections are carried out by
volunteer members of TSC accompanied by City and School Board staff. City
staff, a member of City Council, School Board staff or any concerned citizen
may make a request to Traffic Safety Council for the scheduling of a Site
Inspection and Gap Study to determine if the warrants are met for the
implementation of a school crossing. The location requested for study could
be at an all way stop, a mid-block crossing or an intersection controlled by
traffic control devices. Studies are scheduled for the half hour prior to
school entry and the half hour after school dismissal.
At the Site Inspection and Gap Study, a Site Inspection
Report is completed to record data specific to the site that then forms the
basis for recommendations for changes to the location, if necessary.
Recommendations for changes could include the addition or removal of signs
or traffic control devices, removal of site obstructions such as tree limbs,
requests for Parking or Police enforcement or the suggestion of an alternate
safer route for students to use to access school property. The Gap Study is
the objective measure used to determine if the warrants are met for the
placement of a school crossing guard. The Study relies on engineering
principles and observational skills as a basis for data recording. Data is
recorded in five minute intervals and includes, using a stop watch, the
number of safe gaps in traffic (as determined by a formula based on the
width of the road and the average walking speed of students), the volume of
traffic, and the number of students crossing. Also noted are observations on
driver behaviour/compliance and any pedestrian/vehicle conflicts.
Based on the observations and data collected at the Site
Inspection and Gap study, recommendations are made to Traffic Safety Council
for the implementation, removal, or non-implementation of a school crossing
or for changes to the site itself. These recommendations are further
considered at General Committee and City Council before being adopted.
Further information regarding Mississauga Traffic Safety
Council and the implementation of school crossing guards is available at:
www.mississauga.ca/trafficsafetycouncil
Site Inspection and Gap Studies may
be requested by contacting the Traffic Safety Council Coordinator at:
905-615-3200 extension 5423
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Ward
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