The Town of Newmarket is adjusting parking near St. Elizabeth Seton Catholic Elementary School after residents and the school community expressed concern about increased traffic.
Councillor Jane Twinney pushed forward a resolution Sept. 9 to eliminate on-street parking on Krista Court during school operating hours, including dropoff and pickup times. Council approved the resolution, which will see both sides of Krista Court blocked off from parking during those times.
The resolution also requested York Catholic District School Board take action to improve pickup and dropoff near the school. Twinney said it has become more of an issue with the school being dedicated to French immersion.
“It’s become a situation where a lot of people are not feeling very safe walking on Krista Court,” she said. “One lady walking her grandchild (said she) didn’t feel safe as well, with the fact that there were so many vehicles coming in and out of there.”
The town did implement parking restrictions on one side of the street in 2023 at the behest of residents. Staff initially investigated restricting parking on both sides of the street but did not find enough resident demand to make that happen. But the staff report prompted several more residents to send letters to council asking for more parking restrictions.
“Having the no parking extend to the other side of the street during these times will not only make everyone on the court happy but also keep everyone’s children safe,” Tyler Czuba wrote to council.
Twinney said the school board can hopefully take action to address school dropoff safety on-site. It’s not the first time that Twinney has raised the issue regarding the school, with council writing to the school boards in 2022 requesting they review their policies on school dropoff zones.
But Twinney said the dynamics of the school has shifted, "and I do believe that school property does have the feasibility to make some sort of changes.”
