When the Newmarket High School bell goes, many students flock to a dirt path leading up and out to Mulock Drive.
The shortcut is steep, muddy and can be tricky to climb. Nonetheless, students will traverse it, as it's quicker than going around the fenceline at the edge of the school property.
In response to pleas for a stairway or walking path, the York Region District School Board installed a fence there over the summer. But so far, it's not stopping students from simply hopping over it and using the path anyway, even hauling their bikes over it.
“The school board should have a lot of stairs here because a lot of students are finding it really hard to get to class,” student Milan Patel said. “This fence is just a pain in everyone’s butt. It really annoys everyone.”
The school board installed the fence after students petitioned last year to have the board make the path safer.
Alex Simion helped lead the effort to have action taken on the path. Now studying at Carleton University, he said he was unhappy seeing it installed during the summer.
The school administration “knew if a fence gets put up, kids are still going to jump over it,” Simion said. “... that doesn’t really make sense to me.”
NewmarketToday did not receive a reply to a request for comment from York Region District School Board before the publication deadline.
However, the school board has previously said the pathway poses problems, with a stairway likely not able to meet accessibility requirements. The board has also said it would not have the ability to maintain either the steep steps or the pathway.
Parents have also previously asked for some kind of action there, dating back to 2017.
Student Rana Armanzad said she disliked the fence.
“Not really helpful. People jump over the fence anyways,” she said. “It’s not stopping them, just kind of mildly inconveniencing them.”
Student Carter Reed said the fence would not be effective.
“It’s dumb. They should have put a staircase,” Reed said.
Simion said that once people are more settled in after the start of the school year, he hopes some students might again try to champion change on the pathway. As a political science student, he also said he hopes that he can learn things that could help him take action on the path when he is back in Newmarket.
“I’m sure there is a way for them to make that safe,” Simion said. “I just hope that we come to a solution that helps everybody.”
