The North Vancouver School District will not be forced to pave over greenspace at Ridgeway Elementary to put up a parking lot. But City of North Vancouver Mayor Linda Buchanan says it may be time to consider a ban on parents from dropping kids off on the congested adjacent streets.
To contend with growing student enrolment, the school district added modular classroom space to the site in 2016 but never added more onsite parking required to meet the minimum required by the zoning bylaw. Council granted a temporary exemption, but parents and students protested when that expired in 2018 and the school district announced plans to add 13 more vehicle parking spot on greenspace along Moody Avenue.
A consultant hired by the city counted 937 unrestricted on-street parking spaces within a three-block walk of the school and found the school community and surrounding neighbourhood was largely in support of keeping the greenspace green.
On Monday night, council voted unanimously to grant a variance to the school district, exempting it from the minimum parking requirement.
Though Buchanan was in Ottawa lobbying for transit funding at the time of the meeting, she asked acting mayor Coun. Angela Girard to read in an amendment to the council motion, directing staff to report back to council with plans for traffic calming in the neighbourhood “including the potential to pilot a no-drop-off and pickup zone around the entire perimeter of Ridgeway school between the hours of 7:30 a.m. and 4 p.m.”
Buchanan said the issue is less about parking and more about traffic and safety for students.
“Within the Binnie report, excess parking throughout the neighbourhood was observed as well as inappropriate driver behaviour that put children at risk while trying to get to school. The safety of children is paramount and we should be doing all that we can to create an environment that fosters walking and rolling to school,” Buchanan said in her statement to council. “Although I appreciate this may cause inconvenience to some parents, it cannot override children’s safety.”
City staff stressed that nothing would happen as a result of the motion being passed except research by staff and consultation with the school community.
But Coun. Holly Back voted against the amendment, arguing that while children’s safety must be the top priority, it would put a huge strain on working parents, especially if they have other smaller children in tow. “We’re creating a nightmare for mothers,” she said.
Ridgeway PAC president Arieanna Schweber said she has mixed feelings about the latest action from the city.
“I was really pleased to see the city won’t be requiring the parking lot, so that was a very positive step,” she said, adding the growing school needs more places for kids to play and she is currently leading fundraising efforts to build a $200,000 natural playspace. “We’re trying to deal with a very rapidly expanding student body and they need more of everything. There’s lots of things that need to happen, and play is one of them.”
Schweber said she was more hesitant about the potential for banning pickups and drop-offs around the school.
“I have my own concerns. I agree with some of the council members. We’re an extremely large catchment. Parents in Lower Lonsdale or Esplanade can’t be expected to walk their children to school. … When you have children in band or it’s raining, it’s just not sustainable.”
But, Schweber added, she is pleased to see that the city won’t be enforcing any new rules until consultation with the school community has been done.
“I don’t know if it’s good or not but I think the fact council has recognized that everyone needs to have a say before a big change like that takes place is really positive,” she said.
