Crossing guards

The City of Guelph values a commitment to integrity, excellence and wellness. Keeping children safe is a priority for the City. School crossing guards are a vital part of our community and as city employees strive to provide high-qualityservice.

Crossing guards are present during school arrival and dismissal times to assist students and pedestrians in crossing the street.

Be aware, be patient, be courteous. Keep our pedestrians safe.

Attention motorists

• Slow down when approaching a school crossing zone or an intersection near a school.
• Please obey the school crossing guard. Pedestrians always have the right of way when crossing lawfully.
• Make eye contact with the guard or pedestrian.
• If the school crossing guard has their STOP sign raised, indicating their intention to enter the roadway, drivers must STOP.
• Drivers must remain stopped until all pedestrians including the crossing guard are safely on the sidewalk.
• Drivers failing to stop for the crossing guard may be fined up to $500 under provincial legislation

Attention pedestrians

For your safety, follow these tips when crossing roads:

• Please obey crossing guards when present
• Make eye contact with drivers before crossing
• Get off of bikes, skateboards and scooters before crossing
• Never stop in the middle of an intersection; stopping may confuse waiting drivers
• Always yield to emergency vehicles; if you’ve already started crossing, clear the road quickly and safely
• At crossings with signals:
  • Only cross when the pedestrian walk signal is displayed
  • Never start crossing when the don’t walk signal is flashing; this signal means you don’t have enough time to cross safely

Your crossing guard’s safety is in your hands

Adult school crossing guards must stay in the road until everyone is safely on the sidewalk. When you start crossing after the don’t walk signal starts, you put your adult school crossing guard at risk if the light changes before they can safely exit the intersection.

Adult crossing guard locations and times
Guard shifts – start and end times (co-ordinated times)

If you notice that the school crossing guard is not present at their location during one of their shifts, please contact Christine Vettor, Supervisor, Adult School Crossing Guards at 519-822-1260 extension 2040. Leave the date, time and location where the guard was not present.

Thank a crossing guard

Adult school crossing guards are a vital part of our community. They are dedicated, friendly, consistent, and dependable. They help keep our children safe during the school year, under the sun, in the rain, and even on chilly winter days.

This June, take the time to thank the crossing guards for their service to our community. Use one of these downloadable thank you cards to help say thank you in a fun and creative way.

Download the thank you cards, below.

Thank you cards (English)

Thank you cards (French)

What should I do if I see a motorist disobey the school crossing guard?

The City of Guelph works closely with the Guelph Police Service and the individual schools to ensure that pedestrians are able to cross city streets safely with the assistance of a school crossing guard.

If you notice a motorist disobeying a school crossing guard (i.e. proceeding through the crossing when the guard had the stop sign raised, or running a red signal), try and record the following information:

1. vehicle license plate number
2. make, model and colour of the vehicle
3. description of the driver

Please report driver concerns directly to Guelph Police Services using CopLogic on the Guelph Police website.

Scroll down to – Filing a Report Online and select REPORT ONLINE to begin. It takes about 3 minutes to complete the report.
See a copy of their page listed below.

Resources

• Crossing Guard Application Form
• Signs and signals
• Ministry of Transportation: Pedestrian signals
• Adult School Crossing Guard Core Training

Inclement weather

The City of Guelph administers the adult school crossing guard program. We will endeavour to provide a safe, reliable service to all elementary children attending schools in the areas where established sites are currently listed. However, in extreme weather conditions, the likelihood of a decreased level of service to a point where the city no longer feels it can be provided at adequate levels of safety or reliability is very high.

We value our city guard staff and have a policy in place that guards do not work under the following conditions:

• Temperature colder than -30 Celsius or wind chill below -35
• Snow amounts in excess of 25 centimetres in one snow event
• Significant freezing rain
• Thunderstorms
• When school buses are cancelled for our city