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Northridge Community Assoc.

Road Safety Advocacy Updates (Feb 2023)

Updated: Feb 21, 2023

Since its inception, the NCA has been in touch with various representatives at the City of London to advocate for safer roads in Northridge. In May 2022, our committee sent a letter (full text below) formally outlining our major concerns and the results of our neighbourhood safety survey.


Additional Background: "The Pursuit of 40"


[2023 Update] Over the past year, we have started to see progress. We are pleased that some steps have been taken, but feel strongly that more efforts are needed to prevent unsafe driving near our neighbourhood's elementary schools.


Summer 2022

  • The speed limit throughout Northridge was decreased from 50 km/h to 40 km/h.

  • The crosswalk to Northridge Public School on McLean Drive was repainted.

  • Temporary speed sensors were set up on Glenora Drive near St. Mark Catholic School.

  • Speed bumps were added to McLean Drive.

Late 2022

  • Representatives from the NCA met with new Ward 5 councillor Jerry Pribil and London Police Services constable Cathy Fountain to discuss a variety of safety concerns in Northridge.

  • Councillor Pribil and Constable Fountain noted that despite the NCA's efforts, Northridge’s odds of getting a neighbourhood crossing guard are lower than in communities where children have to cross major roads within the school zone.

  • Councillor Pribil later joined an NCA representative at the school crosswalks to observe typical driver behaviour during school drop-off times.

February 2023

  • Councillor Pribil joined an NCA committee meeting to provide updates on our earlier meeting. He shared that over the course of multiple morning and afternoon visits, he observed the same dangerous driving near elementary school crossings that have concerned our community.

  • Councillor Pribil has continued to advocate on Northridge's behalf, and he offered the following updates:

    • Glenora Drive is missing some "no stopping" signs near St. Mark. These have been ordered, and they should help to improve visibility for drivers.

    • Additional traffic calming measures near St. Mark are coming as early as 2024. (Updates on details and timing will be shared with the NCA when known.)

    • There are no updates on the Northridge/McLean Drive crossing yet, but he is continuing to share concerns with City of London staff.

    • After reviewing the various traffic and pedestrian patterns in the neighbourhood, Councillor Pribil is advocating for pedestrian crossing lights, and he hopes that a one-time capital investment may be a more feasible solution for the City than the ongoing cost and oversight of hiring crossing guards. (A light has the advantage of increasing safety outside of school hours as well.)

***


Letter to City of London (May 2022)


To: Councillor Maureen Cassidy, Ward 5, City of London

CC: [City of London liaison, Northridge P.S. principal, St. Mark Catholic School principal]

Dear Councillor Cassidy,

On behalf of the residents of Northridge and all those who use our community for school, work, and recreation, we urge the City of London to enact measures to increase road safety in our community.

Based on our research into other cities’ initiatives and a survey of Northridge residents, we are requesting support in the following four areas (details to follow):

  1. Reducing speed limits to 40 km/h within the neighborhood of Northridge (boundaries as defined by NeighbourGood London: www.neighbourgoodlondon.ca/neighbourhoods/northridge)

  2. Implementing safe crossings at our elementary schools (crossing guards or signalled pedestrian crossings at the Northridge Public School and St. Mark Catholic School crosswalks)

  3. Increasing communication about municipal initiatives on Northridge roads to ensure transparency and awareness

  4. Reducing stunt driving on major roads surrounding Northridge (Fanshawe Park Road and Highbury Avenue)

REDUCING SPEED LIMITS

The Northridge Community Association (NCA) is advocating to reduce the residential speed limit in Northridge from 50 km/hour to 40 km/hour to address frequent speeding (particularly along the Glenora–McLean–Killarney corridor) and increase pedestrian safety (on the aforementioned streets as well as the dimly lit, sidewalk-less side side streets).

The City of London has been hesitant to enact this proposal, and we are seeking your support to advocate for this important initiative.

In 2021, the NCA conducted a survey of neighbourhood residents and stakeholders. Out of nearly 200 respondents, 75% supported a reduction to 40 km/h.

For additional background on this request, including statistics and a case study from the City of Calgary’s similar initiative, please visit https://ncalondon.wixsite.com/northridge/speed-limit.

SAFE SCHOOL CROSSINGS

Two areas of greatest concern for road safety in Northridge are the school crossings in front of Northridge Public School (McLean Drive) and St. Mark Catholic Elementary School (Glenora Drive). We understand that these concerns were also shared in a letter from the principal of Northridge Public School dated March 12, 2021.

Repainting has made the crosswalks more visible, but has not solved the problem. In the NCA’s 2021 survey, 70% of respondents reported close calls and/or unsafe driving at the school crosswalks.


We have corresponded with the City about having crossing guards posted at these school crossings, but we were informed that crossing guards are allocated based on the number of children who walk to school without an adult. However, it is our position that the number of students who walk independently is directly correlated with the current (lack of) safety of the crosswalk.

In the NCA’s survey, 62% of parents said they do not currently let their children walk alone, but would if there were a crossing guard. Twenty families already let their kids walk to school. An additional 47 would let them if there were a crossing guard, bringing the total to 67. If these results are typical of the neighborhood, we can extrapolate that the crosswalks would get 3x the use with a crossing guard.

INCREASING COMMUNICATION

Residents of Northridge have shared their frustration with the City’s lack of communication to the neighbourhood regarding road works and safety initiatives. Most recently, many in Northridge have been unclear about the decision to install a signalled crossing on Glenora Drive near the pass-through to Horseshoe Crescent, particularly when the location is very near to the existing crossing at Adelaide and Glenora and receives less foot traffic than the crossings that we have been asking for support with.

REDUCING STUNT DRIVING

The London Police Service has shared updates via social media on their efforts to reduce stunt driving in other parts of the city, and we would like to see the same attention in the Northeast.

Particularly in the spring, summer, and fall, the streets surrounding Northridge (Fanshawe Park Road, Highbury Avenue, and others) are subject to drivers travelling at extreme speeds.

One Northridge resident tracked stunt driving on Fanshawe in spring 2021, and logged at least 18 incidents in May and June—most occurred around 11:00 pm, but there were also a handful of instances between 3:30–5:30 pm. With the recent increase in warm, dry weather, the sounds of stunt driving have begun to return.

This is a danger not only to other vehicles on the road, but also to pedestrians who cross Fanshawe from the Jacob’s Ridge development (and, soon, the new developments on Stackhouse Ave). While we do not condone jaywalking on Fanshawe, we recognize that without an adequate pedestrian crossing, jaywalking is common to get to the Fanshawe Optimist Park, and this is made particularly fraught when speeding is not managed.

Thank you for your attention to these matters. We are happy to speak with you at your convenience.

Sincerely,


[NCA Co-Presidents]

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