The Town of Milton is launching a review to improve safety at roundabouts near schools. This follows a motion endorsed by council to address growing community concerns about student pedestrian safety.
The review will examine existing measures and explore potential improvements, such as assigning crossing guards, reducing speed limits and replacing roundabouts with other traffic control systems like traffic lights.
A number of residents shared their personal stories at the Dec. 9 council meeting, including educator Brian De Sousa, who recounted helping a student struck by a car while crossing improperly.
De Sousa advocated for reducing speed limits near secondary schools and enhancing safety measures along busy roads like Thompson Road and Louis St. Laurent Avenue.
“I believe having the report to look at roundabouts and crossing guards is a good first step, but also to look at traffic flow speed and also incidents on streets where schools border main roads,” he said.
Fred Hannah, another concerned citizen, urged council to prioritize safety.
“I drop my son every morning to the new Catholic school on (Louis) St. Laurent, and I had the misfortune about a month or so ago to witness a child getting hit by a car… There have been four incidents of people getting hit and numerous near misses,” he said, calling for the removal of the roundabout.
Coun. Adil Khalqi, who introduced the motion, pointed to safety concerns at two Ward 3 roundabouts — one at Louis St. Laurent Avenue and Kennedy Circle by St. Kateri Tekakwitha Catholic Secondary School and another at Whitlock Avenue and Kennedy Circle near St. Veronica Catholic Elementary School.
Both locations experience heavy student pedestrian traffic, particularly from students, and have seen collisions and near misses, Khalqi said.
“We need to do a comprehensive analysis of what we can do to improve safety for pedestrians at roundabouts near schools,” he said,
Staff is expected to present their findings and recommendations to council by Q2 2025.