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Parents upset that buses not available to some students By Bill Rea Students having to walk to St. Nicholas Catholic Elementary School in Bolton has been a concern for sometime, and it's still on the minds of plenty of parents. An large crowd of parents and students were at the intersection of Coleraine Drive, King Street, Emil Kolb Parkway and Harvest Moon Drive Tuesday morning. They were using the first day of the new school year to protest the fact that Student Transportation of Peel Region (STOPR) has elected not to bus students living east of Coleraine and Emil Kolb to St. Nicholas. According a staff report that went to trustees of the Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board (DPCDSB) late last month, there are about 99 students who are affected. They are forced to cross Coleraine/Emil Kolb, which is part of the Bolton Arterial Road (BAR) aimed at diverting truck traffic away from the Bolton Core. Parents are not pleased with this, and they were making their concerns known Tuesday. The report to the board, however, accepted the justification STOPR has put forward. That wasn't good enough for the parents who were out Tuesday. They said they plan to continue making noise. One man, who asked not to be identified, said they have the support of local Trustee Frank Di Cosola and Councillor Annette Groves. “They're both fully involved in the whole process and we have 100 per cent support from them,” he said. Groves said the Town is in the process of setting up, for the first time, a traffic safety council, which will keep monitoring the situation, and it's hoped address the concerns and the need to have the buses reinstated. She added that STOPR has indicated the Town's position is politically motivated, but Groves said Peel Region has reported there are about 600 vehicles passing through the intersection per hour, and those numbers are expected to increase once the Canadian Tire distribution centre to the south opens. Several people gathered at the intersection pointed out trucks were passing and they seemed to be going considerably faster than the posted 60 km-h. Danita Taccogna, administrative supervisor for infrastructure services with the Town of Caledon was on hand at the protest, urging people to be careful. She also pointed out that the Town has posted two crossing guards at the intersection to help children get across the street both in the morning and afternoon. Attempts to get comments from STOPR were referred to DPCDSB, which referred to the report that went to trustees last month. “STOPR, in accordance with their procedures, is responsible for determining eligibility for transportation and implementing trustee policy for walking distances,” the report stated, adding its procedures are “supported by the division of the ministry of Education responsible for transportation consortia throughout the province.” The report also stated the STOPR conducted a transportation eligibility reassessment for St. Nicholas in the last school year. It was one of eight such reassessments. The Board asked STOPR in June to reconsider the findings of the reassessment. The conclusion, according to the report, was “there has been no new or additional information provided by either the Town of Caledon or the Region of Peel that would alter STOPR's original findings.” The report also stated STOPR has confirmed a commitment to be involved with the Town's Traffic Safety Committee.  Parents and students from St. Nicholas Catholic Elementary School in Bolton were at the intersection of Coleraine Drive and Harvest Moon Drive Tuesday morning, protesting the reduction in busing of students to the school.  A crossing guard was assisting marchers get across Harvest Moon Drive during Tuesday morning's protest. |
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Post date: 2016-09-07 16:31:27 Post date GMT: 2016-09-07 20:31:27 Post modified date: 2016-09-15 09:10:43 Post modified date GMT: 2016-09-15 13:10:43 |
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