Driveway Safety
A number of parents continue to leave their vehicles unattended, or parked, while they stand beside them and hold conversations. Meanwhile, others are trying to pull against the curb to safely unload their children. It is important, for everyone’s safety, that traffic rules and directions are closely followed, especially around and on the school property.
The east side of St. Julia has a Bus loop and Drop-off for Kindergarten children only. This is also where the School Parking Lot is located. With the onset of winter and the build up of snow, our parking lot and roadways will become much more restricted. We ask that you do not park in the lanes for traffic as it makes it impossible for the bus to move around and then holds up all the through traffic, not to mention the bus itself and the students waiting to board it. All students are certainly encouraged to walk and if parents would park or drop off part way up the block, it would make things a lot easier.
We have also had several complaints from our neighbours around the school, who have had their driveways or laneways blocked by inconsiderate drivers.
Anti-Idling Efforts
To reduce unnecessary vehicle emissions, air pollution and smog, the Town has implemented a by-law that limits vehicle idling to a maximum of three minutes. Idling is when the engine is running but the vehicle is not moving. After observing a vehicle idling for more than three minutes, a Markham By-law Enforcement Officer may issue a ticket for $150.
This is a Markham Bylaw and does pertain to school pick up and drop off areas and parking lots as well. We continually strive to teach our children about energy conservation, which needs to be reinforced by their parents. Quite often, we see cars lined up at 3:15, or even earlier to pick up students and the cars are running. Again, not only is it bad for the environment, it sends a wrong message to our students. The drop off time of 8:45 is also of concern for several reasons. Along with environmental problems this creates, there is the fact that the wind blows the exhaust right across the playground, possibly affecting the health of our students.