Residents share concerns about proposed elementary school in Whitehorse's Takhini neighborhood

Some residents in Whitehorse's Takhini neighbourhood are not convinced the new École Whitehorse Elementary School won't seriously affect traffic in the area, despite proposed mitigations laid out in a recent traffic impact assessment.

An open house was held at Takhini Elementary School on Thursday night, for concerned residents to ask questions about the traffic study and other aspects of the school plan. 

The department chose the school's location last October. It will be built on the Takhini Educational Land Reserve, sharing a block with Takhini Elementary School and replacing the aging École Whitehorse Elementary School building downtown.

The traffic impact assessment says roadways won't be severely affected by the new school, because the Yukon government anticipates that 90 per cent of students will take the bus. It recommends constructing mini roundabouts on two Range Road intersections, at Normandy Way and University Drive, to slow traffic and mitigate congestion if fewer students take the bus than anticipated.

Other recommendations include a bike lane and crosswalks along Range Road.

Residents still concerned about location

More than 100 people attended the open house on Thursday to ask questions and submit a survey. Several attendees told CBC News they're still concerned about traffic, safety and protecting green space.

The traffic study seems "a little far-fetched and unrealistic," according to Andrew Robulack, a director with the Takhini Neighbourhood Association. He was happy to see there were some mitigating recommendations.

"At the basic level, though, it's clearly going to have an impact on traffic," Robulack said.

Misha Warbanski, a parent who works near the proposed school site, said she was hoping for more information on cycling infrastructure from the open house and traffic study. Increased traffic is inevitable as the city grows but having active transport options would help from an environmental perspective, she said.

"I'm not sure that some of the connectors and safe ways to ride bicycles with children have really been addressed," she said.

Takhini resident Lawrence Brennan said that safety on Range Road is a serious concern. Right now, Range Road only has two controlled sidewalks to serve a school, daycare and seniors' residence, he said.

"There's been a fair number of anecdotal incidents where people have not felt safe trying to cross the road, or have taken verbal abuse from drivers coming through," Brennan said.

Resident Heather Menzies said she already has safety concerns when she drives to work on Range Road. She says she feels nervous for pedestrians crossing the street during rush hour, and her daughter has had several close encounters with cyclists navigating the bike lane near their house. She said the open house and proposed traffic solutions didn't alleviate those concerns.

"I'm not actually getting a lot of answers to the questions I was hoping to pose here," she said.

Education department says school is in early stages

Carolyn Lewis-Shillington, the territory's assistant deputy minister of schools, said she's hearing the message on traffic from residents, but she is "very confident" in the thoroughness of the traffic impact assessment.

The conversation about the new school is not over, she said. The school is only in stage two of planning out of seven stages.

"We'll be consulting every step of the way," Lewis-Shillington said.