Issue: Safe and delightful transportation to and from school
An unmarked intersection at Emerson Street and Rossland Place in Abbotsford is next to Centennial Park Elementary School. Source: Google Maps, August 2022.
Local Abbotsford 2022 election: Below is an email I sent to school trustee candidates at 2:29 PM and forwarded to mayor and council candidates at 2:45 PM local time, Monday, October 3, 2022.
Update: An insightful solutions response from incumbent candidate Shirley Wilson - October 9, 2022
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Issue: Safe and delightful transportation to and from school
For tonight's DPAC forum, one primary issue I hope to get exposure to is safe and delightful transportation to and from school. It's a topic not often discussed at SD forums during elections; I'd like more collaboration between SD 34 and the City's urban and transportation planning departments.
Here are the candidate questions I emailed to DPAC last week for consideration at tonight's forum:
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I'm not a parent, but I do have some questions for consideration to ask school trustee candidates related to transportation and street safety around schools, plus recreation fields jointly funded between the City and School District.
1) How will you work with the City to make transportation around schools safer for students, faculty and staff? e.g., In the urban area, a complete all ages and abilities (AAA) active transportation network and transit investments, including benches and shelters at stops, plus increased frequency bus intervals of 10 minutes or less.
2) How will you collaborate with the City to resolve the Abby Senior and Mouat sports field issues? How will you administer these joint assets moving forward to ensure better collaboration.?
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The issues literature review I have setup on APC (Abbotsford's Policy Corner) highlights the two points above under the section titles A) Transportation and B) Recreation Facilities & Fields:
https://www.abbotsfordspolicycorner.com/p/issues-literature-review.html
I want to highlight one first-person perspective in the literature review under transportation: "A Walkers Perspective," by Patrick Oystryk, a former City of Abbotsford (COA) urban planner. Although the article is dated, it's relevant. Active transportation is not safe or enjoyable in Abbotsford, negatively impacting our physical and mental health. From the Cycling Professor, here's a child's drawing of their school trip to school:
https://twitter.com/fietsprofessor/status/1577011706831998976
When we consider upgrades to schools or new schools, plus significant urban development near schools (e.g., Cooper farm), how are we focusing on the movement of people - not cars (traffic), but people (e.g., wheelchair or mobility aid scooter, walking, cycling, transit, goods vehicles, cars)? To help address this question, during the Cooper farm proposal discussion in July, I developed this evaluation grid - a type of score sheet for the City Council, municipal staff, journalists, and public members to self-evaluate development projects. Schools and the efficient and effective movement of people are components:
https://www.abbotsfordspolicycorner.com/p/urban-development-project-evaluation.html
Other notes and resources on Abbotsford's Policy Corner (APC):
Literature Review - Street safety:
https://www.abbotsfordspolicycorner.com/2022/10/literature-review-street-safety.html
City Plans and Strategies - See the Transportation and Transit Master Plan:
https://www.abbotsfordspolicycorner.com/p/master-plans-strategies.html
Opinion: The COA is not meeting the objectives of its Transportation and Transit Master Plan and continuing to construct unsafe streets that do not meet best practices guidelines for active transportation and transit.
Candidate Q and A - the page now includes Q and A findings from the Canadian Parents for French and FV Current: [Context: I previously emailed this link to trustee candidates as part of an introduction email to APC. RB - October 3, 2022]
https://www.abbotsfordspolicycorner.com/p/election-candidate-q-a.html
Understanding Municipal Fundamentals - A high-level resource to highlight municipal urban and transportation planning and how it impacts economics, nature, health and lifestyle:
https://www.abbotsfordspolicycorner.com/p/understanding-municipal-fundamentals.html
City KPI: Key Performance Indicators - Includes accident (vulnerable road user) statistics:
https://www.abbotsfordspolicycorner.com/p/kpi-key-performance-indicators.html
Health and strength,
Ross Brown
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Related:
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Keywords: Abbotsford, school, district 34, trustees, safe, streets, transportation, to and from school, delightful, transit, but, biking, cycling, walking, vision, zero