WHY DOESN'T BARRIE HAVE A CROSSING-GUARD PROGRAM?

jor intersections, but that effort ended decades ago.

amount of traffic," she said. "There's no kiss-andride, there's barely any parking spaces. You've got kids dashing across the road to their parents' cars. On the other hand, I worry he's crossing this major intersection. Every day I pray he crosses safely. It's a very congested area."

Dramova has started a petition on the City of Barrie's website, calling on the municipality to implement a crossing-guard program. It has more than 120 votes — 500 are needed to get the item onto council's docket.

Other cities, such as Toronto, London, Ottawa and Vaughan, have programs in place. Locally, so too does Bradford and Orillia.

Barrie used to utilize older students as safety patrollers, who would operate pedestrian signals and guide younger kids at ma-

City staff reviewed the issue in 2015, and noted about $650,000 per year would be required to roll out a new program at about 150 sites around the municipality. Serious concerns about cost, where it should be piloted, and whether the municipality could be held liable in an accident, were expressed, Mayor Jeff Lehman said.

"There are relatively few municipal programs around the province, among the 444 municipalities," he said. "The schools need to be part of this. There are some very legitimate concerns around whether we could deliver a program that's comprehensive and reliable enough to ensure safety. They're kids. You worry about them. I totally understand."

Barrie has more than 40 elementary schools. Even a few spots per facility means you'd need to hire a couple hundred crossing guards, Lehman said. He recalls being a safety patroller as a kid, but notes boards now shy away from letting children leave school property unsuper- vised.

A crossing guard would work less than two hours a day and earn a few thousand dollars per year, Lehman said.

"You have 300 locations and 299 crossing guards show up to work — one doesn't and then there's an accident. That's a huge problem," he said. "It's very hard to hire enough people. It's an unusual job. Other cities often run short of people, then they're forced to only have crossing guards at certain intersections or to stop providing the service."

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Instead, the city needs to work with schools to ensure there is adequate onsite drop-off and pickup space. And a "walking school bus" model, where parents who live nearby volunteer to guide other children safely along their route, could be expanded.

Pauline Stevenson, Simcoe Muskoka Catholic District School Board's communications manager, said her organization notifies municipalities when new schools will be opening, and advocates for specific crossing locations.

"Crossing-guard programs are run by the mu- nicipality and not the school board," she said. "They are governed under the Highway Traffic Act, which states they are employed by the municipality or a corporation under contract with the municipality."

Dramova says she's talked to other parents and believes there would be widespread support for a program.

"So many people I've met who just moved to Barrie are frustrated there's no crossing guards," she said. "The city has to change. The population is growing and they can't keep doing things the way they have been."

STORY BEHIND THE STORY: Oleksandra Dramova reached out to Simcoe.com to help her raise awareness of the need for a Barrie-wide crossingguard program.