PETITION TO
KEEP ST. AGNES SCHOOL BUSES - THIS WILL IMPACT ALL OF US!
EVEN
IF YOUR KIDS ARE NOT ON THE BUS – PLEASE PRINT, SIGN AND RETURN TO THE SCHOOL BY WEDNESDAY JUNE 29!
** FORM BELOW **
The Toronto Catholic School Board Trustees have decided to no longer provide bus service to students that live closer than 1.5km from the school. The transportation budget has been included in their expenditure savings.
The board should
be making this decision on a school by school basis. Here are the reasons why
the families of St. Agnes should be able to keep our school bus routes.
1. NO sidewalks,
CONSTRUCTION, winding streets, speeding vehicles
· Our kids have to walk down winding
streets without sidewalks –Newton, Pamcrest, Pheasant, Drive, Llyodminster
Crescent and Caswell Drive to get to Maxome Avenue.
· There are multiple construction sites
that have pedestrians walking around work vehicles, machinery, building
material, etc. Unsupervised children will have to walk by workers.
· There are speeding cars and overgrown
trees that obstruct views at crossing areas.
· Children will be expected to cross
the road at various dangerous and busy intersections. In most cases there
are only 2-way stops. This is the case at Pamcrest and Newton, Newton and
Maxome, Maxome and Llyodminster, Maxome and Otonabee, Newton and Caswell, etc.
· There is no proper crossing at the
school intersection - Maxome Avenue and Otonabee Avenue. There is only a
stop sign that many people drive through. There was a request to the city
to have a crossing here. They responded that there was going to be
changes at Steeles Avenue and Maxome Avenue (not able to go north of Steeles
onto Henderson in the am). This has not helped!
· The city also said that school
signage was not necessary as the school is not right on Maxome. After
other complaints of this from other parents of the school, school signage went
up along Maxome. This has not assisted in making that intersection safer
to cross!
2. Cul-de-sac – It’s just a
matter of time that someone gets seriously hurt!
Increased congestion at
drop-off and pick up.
There
were discussions between the city and the board to have the cul-de-sac enlarged.
The city required more land for this project; the board was not willing to give
it. The compromise was that St. Agnes was to have a certain length buses
so that the bus can enter the cul-de-sac and turn the radius of the circle
without having to go in reverse.
“Rules of the cul-de-sac” were
written by the parent council and are discussed and distributed a few times a
year with the school newsletter (copy attached).
Once
the buses are removed, the cul-de-sac will not be able to handle the extra
congestion. There are constant complaints about the drop-off and pick up.
In the winter, the city plows the cul-de-sac either dumping snow on the sidewalk
in which case the kids have to walk in the circle, or they plow creating windrows so that
kids have to climb over to get onto the sidewalk. The city has been
notified and crews have been sent out to remove the snow.
Cul-de-sac Environment – Buses honking for cars to clear
their drop off areas, parents parked on the side, out of the car trying to drop
off their kids and helping with their bags, parents trying to follow the rules
and frustrated parents who are late for work and just want to get out of the
area.
3. Our Neighbours – The residents on Maxome and
Otonabee already have enough congestion and noise in relation to our
school. They have to deal with pick up, drop off, loitering (teenagers in
the afternoon – into the late evening) and littering. The cancellation of
buses will increase congestion. These people already have difficulty getting
out of their driveways and are frequently blocked in.
4. Brebeuf College – St. Agnes Catholic School backs
onto the property of Brebeuf College. Local boys walk through the yards
as a short cut instead of walking west on Steeles and south on Maxome.
There are also families of the boys of Brebeuf that use the cul-de-sac for drop
off and pick up.
5. Annual bus route evaluation
not done. The
transportation department has not evaluated their bus route or bus stops.
For example buses continue to drive down streets and by stops that have no one
getting on or off for years!
6. Our tax dollars – The Willowdale area is going to
see an even higher rise in property tax dollars compared to most areas in
Toronto. Although our property tax bills are increasing, we are losing
this valuable service.
Mr. DelGrande has been telling
parents that they can get on a wait list to get on a bus if there is
room. There is NO wait list. According to Mr. Kevin Hodgkinson
(transportation services) students may be able to get on a bus, if there is
room, and if they meet the bus at a 1.5km bus stop!
Please call ….
Kevin Hodgkinson (General Manager, Transportation) at 416-229-5313.
Ms. Angela Gauthier, Director of Education, 416-222-8282 Ext 2296
If you
have any questions, comments or able to assist with this project- please email
Maria Aprile at smaprile@rogers.com or
Thank
you
CSPC –
Parent Council
__________________________________________________________________________________________
We need your support!!! Most students at St.Agnes take the
bus!!
Please sign and return to school by this Wednesday
June 29th.
I
disagree with the removal of bus services for students less than 1.5km away
from St. Agnes.
Printed
Name: __________________________________________________
Signature: ____________________________________________
Address:
____________________________________________
Comments:
______________________________________________________________________
THANK
YOU!
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