New Westminster city council hopes construction of a new elementary school is a chance to tackle the crisis that occurs when parents are picking up and dropping off their kids.
The school district is currently working on a site plan, building design and landscape plan for the new Richard McBride Elementary School, which is aiming to open in September 2021. Neighbours and school users are invited to attend an open house on Wednesday, June 5 from 6:30 to 8 p.m. in the school gym, 331 Richmond St.
A May 27 staff report to council states that refinements to the building and site design will be made based on feedback in the consultation process. Staff will also complete an assessment and determine what variances to city regulations will be needed as part of the project.
Coun. Patrick Johnstone noted the current plan includes parking adjacent to the school’s property line on Richmond Street.
“Richmond Street is a greenway – it is supposed to be a greenway through the city. With all due respect to parents worldwide, the most dangerous place for vulnerable road users is the roadway in front a school during pickup and drop-off. It is a chaotic zone which creates a lot of hazards for pedestrians and cyclists trying to get through that zone,” he said. “If Richmond Street is going to be hosting a pickup and drop-off area, that needs to be approached with great caution, and it needs to be considered how a greenway is going to function in that space with a pickup and drop-off.”
Lynn Roxburgh, a senior planner, said the city is working with the school district to move pickup and drop-off onto the school site and off the street.
Coun. Mary Trentadue noted the engineering department’s work plan includes work on pickup and drop-off around school sites. She hopes the redevelopment project provides an opportunity for some out-of-the-box thinking.
“I don’t know what the answers are but I don’t want us to continue to do the same. Pickup and drop-off at school is terrible. I am a parent so I experience it every day and I could have a battle with a parent every single day of the school year because of pickup and drop-off. It’s terrible,” she said. “I would really like us to take this opportunity to be really creative in coming up with some ways that will protect our kids but also make it reasonable for parents to get their kids to school as they need to.”
According to the report, the applicant is required to enter into a works and services agreement regarding things like roadwork, service connections and street lighting, but the school district has indicated there isn’t enough money in the budget for the full scope of off-site works.
Whenever anyone constructs a building in the city, Johnstone said it’s expected they will upgrade or bring offsite services up to a standard. He said it’s important to remember the city isn’t negotiating these costs with the school district but the province, and it should be required to provide offsite infrastructure that would be expected from any other homeowner, developer or business.
“I recognize there is a significant public interest in having a new school built in our community but the idea that we would vary the requirements to provide those community amenities to a builder, because it’s the provincial government who is building the building and not someone else is something, that I am concerned about. I think those are actual costs,” he said. “If it doesn’t fall on the provincial government, it falls on the municipal government and, I’ll say it, it’s a form of downloading if they are going to try and get out of paying those costs.”
