Construction at Joshua Creek PS: Done? Almost

The new additions are finally completed at Joshua Creek PS. They were scheduled to be completed August 31, 2008 but were not ready until March 23, 2009; a 7 month miss on a plan approved in April 2008 to be completed in four months. Hopefully these new classrooms will be a positive to the learning environment at Joshua Creek PS for many years to come.

Both the north and the south parking lots are now useable. This should alleviate some parking pressures. There are to be an additional 10 permanent parking spaces added to the existing parking lots (timing is unknown).

Additionally, the school now has two drop off zones, the original drop-off zone in the north parking lot as well as a new drop off zone in the south parking lot. The addition of a second drop off zone was required by the Town of Oakville in conjunction with approval of the expansion of the school. From the Town of Oakville:

“The Site Plan Committee's request for a second drop-off area was accommodated on the approved site plan drawing. Drop-off areas are designated on the north side and south side of the school building.......
directing parents to use these drop-off areas is an operational function to be addressed by the school and school board.”

The new drop off zone in the south parking lot should alleviate some of the congestion in the north parking lot by spreading out the traffic as well as making better use of the second exit of the site.

Another aspect of the construction is that the four-pack of portables in the south corner of the property were to be removed. They are not gone yet. The Town of Oakville received a communication from Halton District School Board that they won’t be removed until the summer months. We have been told that they will be gone by September 2009. We hope that they will be removed sooner than later. The students have had a restricted school yard since September 2008 and using the limited school yard for storing vacated portables is clearly not best for the school body.

It would also be nice for the neighbouring homeowners to be rid of these vacated portables after enduring a long construction period. The construction was to have been completed August 31, 2008 with these four portables removed by that time, if the HDSB uses the school yard as a storage site for vacated portables it will aggravate the delay. Immediate removal of these vacated portables would help make up for the 7 month miss. We will be requesting that the HDSB remove these four vacated portables immediately.