SAFETY FIRST—Crossing guard Harold Kitchen stops traffic near Wildwood Elementary School at the beginning of the 2023-24 school year. Acorn file photo
Thousand Oaks has more crossing guards than any other city in Ventura County, but that could change next year if existing locations continue to not meet the city’s minimum requirements.
The information came during the June 26 Traffic and Transportation Advisory Commission meeting when city staff presented the results of the annual crossing guard program vehicle and pedestrian count.
The commission did not take any action on the item but did voice opinions regarding the importance of the program.
“It really is such a critical service; it touches on a lot of different values we’re looking to build in the city,” said Commissioner Ashley Orozco after reading a letter the commission received.
In February 2023, the City Council adopted new policies for crossing guard locations whose objective standards are significantly easier to meet than the state’s minimum standards, said Nader Heydari, the city’s deputy public works director.
To be eligible for a crossing guard, an intersection must have a minimum number of both school-age pedestrians and vehicles in morning and afternoon hours.
The crossing guard program, overseen and paid for by the city, has a roughly $400,000 budget per year and features a two-year review process. This spring, the city completed the first year of the cycle with a consultant reviewing all 24 of the city’s existing crossing guard locations— which are located near 20 elementary and middle school campuses.
Similar to previous years’ findings, 14 of the 24 intersections did not meet the city’s requirements. Out of the 10 locations that met the standards, only four met the state standards that the other cities in Ventura County use.
“Six additional locations were qualified directly as a result of the city’s 2023 crossing guard policy, which has easier to-meet standards, which demonstrates that the city policy is being effective in helping qualify more locations” Heydari told commissioners.
Next spring, for the second year of the cycle, the consultant will review all 24 locations again. Those that do not meet the requirements for two consecutive years will be eliminated from the crossing guard program for the 2025-26 school year.
The potential removal of the 14 crossing guard locations was upsetting to the parents who spoke during a public comment period.
“I would eventually want my child to walk to school or I would want to walk her to school,” one mother said. “But if a crossing guard is not present, it is not something I will probably consider because I don’t trust the drivers.”
“The value of a child’s life cannot be measured in monetary terms, but it is essential that the city’s investment in crossing guards reflects the importance of this service,” another mother told commissioners.
The majority of commissioners agreed with the public speakers that the review process could take additional factors, such as the slope of a street, into consideration.
“Objective criteria are not necessarily well-suited for every study, and I’m speaking as the parent of a child who goes to one of the schools on this list that is in the red,” Commissioner Lawrence Imel said, adding that he hopes the meeting encourages parents to have their children walk to school so pedestrian counts increase for the next study.