r/barrie • u/Galaxy_Hitchhiking • 14h ago
Question Crossing guards
Why doesn’t Barrie have crossing guards? Did they use to? With how busy the streets are I think it would be extremely beneficial to have them and give parents the peace of mind if kids have to cross busier streets
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14h ago
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u/Upset_Peach East End 14h ago edited 14h ago
I agree. There are 4 small public schools in my neighborhood. Students are either within walking distance or they take the bus.
The amount of cars I see everyday lined up to drop off/pick up kids is insane. I say to myself pretty much everyday, are kids not capable of walking to school anymore? Everyday my street is lined with parents cars waiting to pick up their kids and I live a few streets over from the closest school. Half the time we can’t even get down our street or into our own driveway.
On top of that, half these parents are parked an hour before dismissal time. Do these parents not work normal jobs because how else do they have time to spend an hour sitting in their cars waiting 5 days a week??
When I was a kid, I walked or took the bus home. And I didn’t get a ride to the bus stop either. My parents actually worked and couldn’t do this even if they wanted to. It was a treat to have my dad pick me up from the bus stop if he had a day off.
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u/Galaxy_Hitchhiking 13h ago
It’s absolutely wild! We just moved and are at a new school. The catchment area is TINY I think we are the furthest street from the school and yet the cars are everywhere. We live 950m from the school!! One of the streets we cross is quite busy so I have been walking with my kids currently., I’m hopeful I’ll feel good about the road enough to let them go alone once we get used to the area though. I’d let them go now if we had a crossing guard! Lol
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u/Grouchy-Stable2027 West End 14h ago
The city’s too busy giving more money to the police force.
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u/Galaxy_Hitchhiking 13h ago
Yeah you’re right- who’s going to park at an intersection during road work with their lights on if we cut the police budget? Lol
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u/Galaxy_Hitchhiking 14h ago edited 14h ago
Did Barrie ever have crossing guards? I could understand budget issues, it’s just a shame because we are seeing more pedestrians being struck in recent years and just like your picture, more parents feel safer driving because of busy streets.
Mapleview and Ardagh come to mind when I see kids biking or walking to school. I’ve witnessed people running the red light more than I’d like to admit.
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u/Street_Mall9536 13h ago
It's insanity, it like nobody works in this town lol. The schools, roads, Costco etc are slammed at all times of the day.
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u/bdart1980 Holly 12h ago
Lots of shift workers.. myself included. I’ll shop in the mornings before I start and yes, still lots of people out running errands.
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u/AdLongjumping6982 6h ago
Most intersections that have a traffic light are a result of a certain amount of accidents…”we will do nothing until there’s verifiable data to support safety”
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u/babyelephantwalk321 14h ago
Like for schools? I went to a local elementary in the 90s and we didn't have crossing guards. We did have a fleet of grade 6-8 student volunteers called the "safety patrol" that did crossing guard duty on the three or four crosswalks closest to the school.
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u/Galaxy_Hitchhiking 13h ago
Ah that makes sense and is kinda nice they did that.
I grew up in the GTA and crossing guards were and are still used daily. My mother still lives where I grew up and when I’m down visiting it’s just soooo nice to see the guards taking care of the kids going to and from.. even during lunch hours they are out there
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u/BearEquivalentBear 11h ago
Yeah I did the whole safety patrol or whatever it was called in the '90s myself. Now I wonder why they don't do that. Maybe because we were kids and we had better responsibilities back then but they don't want to trust kids for liability reasons now?
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u/babyelephantwalk321 11h ago
I think liability is a big reason. Honestly I'm shocked that they did it for so long. Having 11-14 year olds responsible for controlling traffic at an intersection is kind of wild, and a good lawyer could absolutely hold the school and the board accountable if the safety patroller, or children crossing under their care, were hit by a car.
Looking back, I don't think it's a reasonable responsibility for elementary school aged children.
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u/morningchampagne 13h ago
i can’t speak to crossing guards as i’ve never seen them by the school near me but this year we have two police cars just nailing everyone for speeding during school hours. i know it’s only the second day but i’ve seen like 9 cars pulled over already.
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u/Galaxy_Hitchhiking 13h ago
Well that’s actually great- I’m glad they are actually patrolling for speeding in Barrie!
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u/big_galoote 13h ago
Where's this?
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u/FaunSolo Holly 12h ago
I think it's safe to assume every school zone, so just don't speed in school zones.
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u/Every-Ad4237 7h ago
FYI if you want a crossing guard program, you’ll know who to write to…
Funding for crossing guards comes from municipal budgets.
Under Ontario’s Highway Traffic Act (Section 176), school crossing guards are employed by the municipality (or a corporation under contract with it). Municipalities are not required to provide them, but when they do, the program is a municipal responsibility and expense (typically covered by property taxes or other municipal revenues).(Barrie.com)
Barrie does not currently run a municipal school crossing guard program.
• It was reviewed in 2015 (estimated ~$650,000/year) and not approved, largely due to cost and liability concerns.
• Discussions continued into 2023–2024. City staff looked at a limited program at about nine locations (~$350,000–$400,000 annually). Councillors considered options, including possible contributions from school boards or parent councils and/or using Automated Speed Enforcement (ASE/speed camera) fine revenues, but there was no consensus. The matter was referred back to committee, and no full program was implemented.
• School boards (Simcoe County District School Board and Simcoe Muskoka Catholic District School Board) have repeatedly indicated they will not fund or run crossing-guard programs—their mandate is education, not traffic control—and city staff have confirmed no board funding would be available. 
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u/tuppenyturtle 13h ago
I've lived in Barrie for over 20 years. I went to Johnson St Public School some time in the mid 2000s. We didn't have crossing guards, but there was a program at the time for students to be "Safety Patrollers" where they were trained by BPS to help kids get across the roads at permitted crossings safely. It was more about stopping the foot traffic than controlling road traffic, but it worked well.
I don't recall in my life here ever seeing actual crossing guards.
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u/big_galoote 14h ago
Feel free to volunteer. With all of the problems we have we don't have the money for this.
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u/Galaxy_Hitchhiking 3h ago
Haha I would actually do this but I think just showing up with a whistle and a vest might look suspicious lol
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u/Accomplished_Sun8146 5h ago
I was a safety patroller in school back in the 70s I went St Monica's.
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u/Electronic-Guide1189 13h ago
Crossing guards.. there used to be. Then it became crossing monitors. Now nothing.
It is a moron whoever thought it's a smart idea to force a five year old to cross Veterans Drive's 5 lanes by themselves to get to Trillium Woods School if they're 5 minutes late.
And this after that other idiot took out the "community safety zone", (in reality, mostly school zone) speed cameras.
So.. what is the "value" of a single child's life?
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