With the first school bell just weeks away, Perth is preparing a series of traffic changes around St. John Catholic Elementary School and The Queen Elizabeth School aimed at making the daily rush safer for students, parents and drivers.
The recommendations follow concerns raised by school principals and parents about traffic around the two schools. Town staff responded with traffic counts, field observations and engineering work, along with discussions with school officials and the Lanark County OPP.
The biggest change would turn the Wilson Street East and Halton Street intersection into a four-way stop. Staff also recommend reducing speeds to 40 km/h on sections of Arthur Street, Wilson Street East, Craig Street, Grant Street, Halton Street and Robinson Street, all key routes around the schools.
New parking restrictions are proposed on parts of Grant, Halton and Wilson Street East to improve sightlines and ease congestion, particularly during the morning drop-off and afternoon pickup crush. Those streets, along with Arthur, Craig and Robinson, would form part of expanded Community Safety Zones.
Of three intersections studied for possible four-way stops, only Wilson and Halton met the required traffic criteria.
The OPP review found five reportable property-damage collisions within the proposed safety zone between 2021 and July 2026. Police records also showed three additional minor collisions, three traffic complaints and three enforcement incidents. Complaints included concerns about speeding, parking and increased traffic around St. John.
CAO Michael Touw said the town has been working collaboratively on this file.
“We’ve been working hand in hand with the school board so far through the whole process,” Touw said.
With September approaching quickly, Coun. Isabel McRae said residents will need to be made aware of the changes or there could be more accidents.
“I’m just talking about the communication piece, you know, for example, like we could put it in the Loop, we could put it in the paper to get that information out there, because school’s going to happen. It’s just around the corner,” McRae said.
Coun. David Bird noted there is already a process for introducing changes motorists need to be aware of on the streets.
“There is procedure for new traffic configuration or new signage, and I’m sure Grant Machan [director of environmental services] is already on top of that,” Bird said.
Committee members approved the motion for council’s final passage, and staff will install the required signs and pavement markings. The work is expected to cost about $12,000 and can be covered within this year’s operating budget, with no additional funding required.
The changes would also bring Perth’s Community Safety Zones under its main Traffic and Parking Bylaw, putting the regulations in one place and making future changes easier to manage.
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