It’s not that Karlene Doyle is opposed to the Jack Crescent Trail, which would provide an alternative access route for students attending Goodfellow Public School.
She calls it “a great idea, as it promotes other options (and) a healthy and safe way for our children to get to school.”
Her concerns have to do with the details: how to ensure access to the schoolyard for students while addressing safety and security needs at the school.
Doyle points out that the schoolyard is currently fenced and gated to ensure the safety of students. If there is a public walkway, and public access, how can that be preserved?
“The schoolyard is not a park,” she said. “There has to be a gated fence. There is a daycare at the school,” and a YMCA camp in summer.
“This is a security issue.”
The idea of a walking trail has been promoted through Innisfil’s School Zone - Traffic Advisory Committee, after the parking lot at Goodfellow P.S. was closed from 9 a.m. to 9:20 a.m., to reduce traffic conflicts within the school environs.
“It pushed to traffic onto the 9th Line,” noted Doyle – forcing families to walk along Line 9, and making it difficult for buses to get around parked vehicles. Parking was then banned – which pushed the problem to the other side of the road and several side streets.
The issue brought the Jack Crescent walking trail to the fore – “which is fine, but they put the cart before the horse,” she suggested. “There are a lot of decisions that have to be made by the school board. It is a great idea, but the town has not planned it the proper way.”
Doyle argued that discussions with the Simcoe County District School Board (SCDSB), and with the neighbours on Jack Crescent, should have taken place before plans were drawn up and trees were cleared.
But Amber Leal, Capital Project Manager with the Town of Innisfill, pointed out that the trail is part of the town's Trails Master Plan "This project is a pre-approved Schedule A+ Municipal Class Environmental Assessment. Notification of the project was printed in the paper in late December and early January."
She acknowledged, "Residents along Jack Crescent have not been individually engaged as yet. They were to receive a Notice of Construction and will eventually receive one, depending on the schedule of design completion and tender award. That notice will be an important opportunity for residents to ask questions and get more information."
Leal also pointed out that the Trails Master Plan "had an extensive public engagement piece. All residents would have had an opportunity to provide input at that point."
As for talks with the school board, Leal said, "Formal communications have been ongoing... and we have received direction to move ahead with this project. The SCDSB is excited to work with us on this very exciting community project."
Doyle still worries about issues of security, and access. Living near Goodfellow, she has kept an eye on the schoolyard, watching for trespassers and reporting vandalism.
“For 23 years I’ve kept the school safe,” she said, calling herself Innisfil’s “Mrs. Kravitz” – the nosy neighbour from the TV show Bewitched. A new trail and open gate, even with bollards, could provide intruders with access to the yard and the school, she suggested.
A town staff report on the $448,790 project described the Jack Crescent Trail as a “connection piece” that “helps to connect trail users as part of inter-regional connection efforts throughout Simcoe County and the Greater Golden Horseshoe.”
Doyle challenged the description, questioning how Jack Crescent can be part of a regional trail plan “when it leads to private property?”
And she raised the issue of winter maintenance of the trail, if it is to be useful for students, and handicapped-accessible. .
“Currently no trails in Innisfil are maintained, cleaned of snow and ice, in winter,” Doyle pointed out.
Her concerns were echoed by the Innisfil Accessibility Advisory Committee (IAAC).
It was resident Leslie Pollak who brought the planned trail to the attention of the IAAC – and who has presented an alternative proposal, that he feels could address both safety and accessibility issues.
Rather than the Jack Crescent Trail entering the school yard at a point mid-way along the south fence, from a densely wooded area, Pollak has proposed that the town purchase a strip of land from the school board, along the east side of the school property.
The trail could then be paved, and extend all the way from Jack Crescent to Joseph Street, while still maintaining the integrity of the school fencing and the security of students – and giving clear authority to the town to maintain the full length of the trail, year-round.
Leal said that the town is still considering options. "Additional design considerations are still ongoing with the SCDSB," she said, although alternatives would not include "re-directing users back to 25 Sideroad."
She concluded, "This project is a positive addition to the residents of this community whose children attend Goodfellow as it will drastically reduce the commute and keep children off the 25th Sideroad and directly into the school property."
“It’s a great link for a bike trail, a path, an accessible route,” agreed Doyle, “but there’s a number of parties that need to come together,” before the Jack Crescent Trail becomes a reality.
Manager of Communications at the Simcoe County District School Board, Sarah Kekewich summed it up: "The SCDSB has been involved in discussions with the Town of Innisfil and remains committed to working with our school communities and municipalities to develop strategies that will minimize traffic and increase safety during the busy drop-off and pick-up times, as it is a shared responsibility."
At the moment, she said, "details of the proposal are being considered, including all aspects of safety, access and maintenance, and board staff will continue to work with the Town of Innisfil towards a desirable strategy."
Kekewich concluded, "The safety of our students, staff and community members who visit the school is very important to us."
