Parents at new Barrhaven school worried about unsafe conditions and congestion

Parents navigate dangerous school drop-off Parents at a new Barrhaven school call for change after contending with heavy traffic and no crossing guards. CTV's Katelyn Wilson reports.

Parents dropping their kids off at the brand new Wazoson Public School in Barrhaven say it's a chaotic and dangerous situation.

There are cars turning around in the middle of the street, parking in front of no parking signs and students dodging vehicles while trying to cross the street.

"It’s very disorganized and I guess a lot of that leads to unsafe conditions," said parent Brandon Hum.

The school, which opened for the first time after the winter break, has no designated drop off area which forces parents to park blocks away or create congestion in front of the school.

"The problem with the traffic is really crazy," said parent Reema Quosa, who works from home. "I’m living three minutes away from the school and it took about 30 or 40 minutes to get back to work."

Adding to the long list of concerns is a lack of stop signs at one of the intersections near the school.

City councillor David Hill says the city is requesting a crossing guard at one of the intersections and looking at additional safety measures at another.

"It could be a stop sign, it could be a traffic guard. I don’t know exactly what they’re going to be installing but I have been told they are looking seriously at that intersection as well," Hill said.

It’s unclear how soon parents could see those safety measures put in place.

The Ottawa-Carleton District School Board told CTV News in a statement that this type of situation is not uncommon at a new school.

"Staff have contacted the city to request crossing guards in the area and by-law officials have also been notified regarding concerns about illegal parking," the statement said.

"School staff will continue to work with families and the city to ease congestion and address safety concerns in the community."

Wazoson sent an email to parents on Friday evening to remind them about road safety.

The school says bylaw will be out in full force starting Monday.