Despite Some Misgivings Traffic Impact Study Given The Green Light

Despite some misgivings and one resident who showed up to voice his opposition Council voted to endorse the Traffic Impact Assessment (TIA) study conducted about the location of the proposed joint use school on South Hill.

Proposed to be built in the Westheath neighbourhood the school will combine all South Hill elementary school students from the Prairie South School Division (PSSD) and the Holy Trinity Catholic School Division (HTCSD) in one facility. Each respective division runs their own programming but they share some of the facilities. The new joint use school is projected to have about 1,000 students.

Speaking in favour of approving the TIA study city manager Jim Pufflalt said the deal was a good one for the City. he said selling the land for the school takes away from lots the City could sell but with the Province needing to build roads and to provide services to the school it will give the City 25 to 30 residential lots serviced by the Ministry of Education. This was despite the site selected with no consultation from the City.

“Westheath as a location was not a location anticipated by anybody. An certainly as the school came forward this became the location they chose and wanted and have put substantial effort, time and resources,” Puffalt said. “it is a very tremendous deal.”

Puffalt said it was important to work with the school divisions to get the project going as quickly as possible.

“Again there is jeopardy by delaying this project,” he said.

Director of Planning Michelle Sanson said the TIA study had concluded on a pure technical basis the school would work in the neighbourhood but there would need to be some traffic mitigation done as part of the plan,

The TIA carried with it recommendations to remediate traffic concerns including:

- Encourage traffic to circulate in a counter clockwise direction along Wellington Drive to minimize left turns entering and exiting the school site;

- Separate the pick-up and drop-off areas for busses and private vehicles;

- Separate the traffic paths of pedestrians, bicycles, private vehicles, and busses as much as possible to minimize conflict;

- Provide adequate signage and markings to alert drivers of school crossings;

- Encourage non-motorized travel such as walking, bicycling, as well as carpooling to minimize vehicle trips to the school;

- The school may consider staggering operating hours to minimize traffic volumes during peak hours.

“City Council will have to decide whether the (traffic) disruption is amenable,” Sanson said.

Former PSSD Trustee Jan Radwanski spoke against Council approving the TIA and to adopt an approach of working with the Province to develop a plan to upgrade and modernize existing schools and not build a new joint use school.

Please read Radwanski Asks Council To Reject Traffic Study

Councillor Crystal Froese, who is also a PSSD trustee, asked if the Official Community Plan had to be re-opened to facilitate the location for the school.

“The Official Community Plan says all elementary schools should be located as close to the center of the area that they serve. So the key word here is should it does not say shall,” Sanson replied.

Regarding needing additional crosswalks Puffalt said that it is likely but it is premature at the present time to speculate where and how many would be needed but there were ways to take a look at the issue later.

“We do have a traffic warrant system which would allow us to take a look at the impact of vehicular traffic to pedestrians to determine if more crosswalks are required,” he said.

“In other cities I have been in with 1000 student schools I have been in there are quite a number of crosswalks…its premature (to guess at this stage.”

Councillor Heather Eby said she was in favour of the new school’s location and warned that if the City did not get on board the Province could bypass Moose Jaw and build elsewhere.

“The South Residents and children of South Hill do deserve a new school. Ans South Hill is landlocked. we cold fantasize and dream about having a new school in every neighbourhood but that is just not the way it happens anymore,” Councillor Eby said.

About safety, she saw the new school safer than the schools already on Coteau Street.

“I might be wrong but I don’t think that there is any more of a dangerous place for dropping people off than Coteau Street at Empire (School) and Riverview (Collegiate) history proves that,” she said. “I believe this site will be a little bit farther out and will be a little bit better planned out and safer than what we have on Coteau,” she said.

Councillor Dawn Luhning expressed worries about the location having hidden costs.

“I have concerns about that because i do believe the City is going to be on the hook further down the road for providing a bit more infrastructure out there,” Councillor Luhning said.

“If we would have been included in the planning about this school being dropped there I think I would have felt better about that. But what is going to happen is the taxpayers are going to be holding the bag to possibly drop a little bit more in roadways over there and that sort of a thing.”

In a 6 - 1 vote Council approved the recommendation and accepted the TIA study.