The City of Windsor received five complaints about neighbourhood parking on the very first day of school, according to enforcement officials who say it took less than an hour for the first complaint to arrive.
“James L. Dunn [Public School] was in class for 43 minutes when we received our first complaint on parking situations around that school. I believe that's got to be some sort of record for us now,” said Bill Kralovensky, parking enforcement supervisor for the City of Windsor.
Most elementary and secondary students in Windsor-Essex returned to school on Tuesday. But, according to Kralovensky, many people are violating bylaws by parking their cars in a way that makes afternoon bus pickups challenging.
“They're also blocking some of the residents in the area. Some park right in their driveway when they have no business being in that driveway,” he said.
Kravolensky said parents and guardians may be getting adjusted to the first few days of picking up children from school and the city wants to give them a bit of “leeway.”
The city said it has been issuing warnings to some drivers who are parked where they are not permitted to do so. However, enforcement is expected to begin around the third week of school.
To clear up any confusion surrounding where parking around schools is allowed, the city is asking drivers to download the MappMyCity app which will highlight areas where vehicles can be stopped in green.
Kravolensky points to Massey Secondary as one school where this issue often arises.
“I hate picking on Massey high school because their students are from a broad base. So they have to find their way there — but that's still no reason to circumvent the bylaws.”
Student safety is not just being addressed by the city, but bus drivers as well. New this year is an amber light system that warns drivers that the bus is slowing down, before the lights switch to red and the bus pulls out its stop sign.
According to Pat Stevenson, owner of L & G Stevenson Transport, vehicles drive by stopped school buses about “once a week.”
“It's everywhere. We do a lot of work on County Road 22. It happens there. But it also happens in our quiet little subdivisions that we run through,” said Stevenson.
Provincial legislation was passed in July, following years of bus drivers saying people were illegally passing them.
Drivers who pass a school bus illegally could face a hefty fine and six demerit points.
“Anything that brings more attention to the issue is great. If it's easier for new and young drivers to know that the school bus is about to stop, then you have to stop,” said Stevenson.
“We just don't want to see anyone get hurt.”
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