Expansion of River Heights school raises hackles

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This article was published 05/04/2023 (928 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

River Heights residents are butting heads with school board officials over a blueprint to expand an elementary school and in doing so, pave over green space for parking stalls, and increase traffic.

The Winnipeg School Division is planning to renovate École Sir William Osler, a nursery-to-Grade 6 school, to house Grade 7 and 8 students and build a stand-alone daycare on the lot at 1600 Grant Ave.

The proposal, which addresses high demand for French immersion, was shared with community members in late January. Construction is anticipated to start as early as autumn.

“When it comes to the safety of my kids and when it comes to the climate crisis that we are in, I have to say something,” said Carolyn Regehr, a mother who bikes to the school with her two young children year-round to reduce their family’s carbon footprint.

“We need more green space. We don’t need less,” she added.

Regehr is among the community members urging the division to find an alternative to constructing a large parking lot and bus loop on Brock Street as a future drop-off and pick-up hub — the solution put forward in a recent traffic study commissioned by the division.

Some critics take issue with the prospect of increased traffic, congestion and related incidents on and around the residential street. Others are worried about the cement pad becoming an eyesore.

Renderings of the addition, a two-storey building attached to the school, show seven new classrooms, a large gymnasium and designated art room, among other amenities. The new child-care facility is slated to have 74 spaces for newborns and toddlers.

Early drawings included two new parking lots — for a total of three on the grounds. A heated public meeting prompted a redesign so only one new expansive lot with a bus loop is built and multiple mature trees are not chopped down as a result of the project.

Meghan Cameron said plans have changed but her concerns remain the same. “Parking lots absorb heat. They re-emit it. They are just not thinking very sustainably and they’re not thinking about the impacts for the future,” said the mother who lives on Brock Street.

Cameron noted the proposal is at odds with the City of Winnipeg’s plans to better protect green spaces.

The chairwoman of the parent advisory council said there’s widespread support for the expansion overall because immersion is growing in popularity, as evidenced by the fact many class lists are expected to reach 27 next year.

“We are bursting at the seams and we’re going to have more kids. It’s hard to see what another option would be… If we want young families to stay and not to move to Sage Creek and Waverley West, we need to have schools for kids to attend,” said Caitlin Buchel, noting planners have ruled out portable classrooms.

École LaVérendrye, the closest French milieu school in the division, is at capacity.

Buchel said the council supports the best plan for students. If the parking lot is deemed critical and built, she said they will fundraise to ensure it is “as green as possible.”

Division communications manager Radean Carter said fire officials have vetoed the expansion of the existing parking lot, accessible via a back lane on the western side of the building, and WSD must meet city bylaws’ minimum parking requirements.

“Sir William Osler has one of the largest green spaces (of any school) in the city. Their green space allotment is 5.78 acres and after the expansion, the site will still have 4.8 acres,” she said.

Carter noted there are plans to both install parking spots for children’s bicycles and plant trees around the parking lot, as well as other possible options to beautify it.

This is a good news story because it means children will be able to continue studying at the familiar elementary school for two more years in the future, she added.

Some community members, however, claim division leaders are not doing their due diligence by studying every option, from exploring other school sites to making Brock Street a one-way road.

Michael Charach, a longtime resident of the street, said he would prefer school and daycare employees park outside his house free of charge rather than in a new lot. The current proposal will all but certainly result in changes to street parking rules.

“They haven’t been good neighbours throughout this process,” said Charach, adding residents are frustrated about the division’s communication — and in some cases, lack thereof — about the development of the grounds.

The latest project drawings are being reviewed by the province.

maggie.macintosh@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @macintoshmaggie