1 week Ago By Jake Howarth
Whitehorse residents are concerned about increased congestion on Range Road due to the Yukon government's plan to relocate École Whitehorse Elementary School to Takhini North, prompting a transportation impact assessment recommending traffic safety improvements. The school’s relocation has raised concerns from residents and Yukon oppositional parties since the announced relocation in October, 2024. The Yukon government hosted an open drop-in public open house hosted at Takhini Elementary School on April 10 to discuss various stages of the relocation project.
The transportation impact assessment recommends roundabouts in the Takhini residential area on Range Road and Normandy Road, and on University Drive to Range Road to ease congestion if traffic increases. The government is also recommending extending the school zone on Range Road up to University Drive. Pedestrian crosswalks and a bike lane along Road Range are also planned as part of the Yukon government’s project to relocate École Whitehorse Elementary School from downtown Whitehorse to the Takhini Educational Land Reserve.
The transportation impact assessment states that the traffic at Range Road and University Drive works best if 90 per cent of the students are bused in. If more students are driven to and from school, a roundabout or a traffic signal at the intersection would be recommended as a potential solution according to the study. Kate White, Takhini’s Yukon NDP MLA and Currie Dixon, the Yukon Party’s leader of the official opposition attended the April 10 drop-in session to discuss the transportation impact assessment released on April 4.
Residents and Yukon opposition parties raised concerns about a lack of consultation throughout the project’s process. Mike Redfearn, condo corporation president and Takhini Neighbourhood Association member shared his frustrations with the at the April 10 drop-in open house. “And he said over here, when they get their preliminary drawings done up, they will hold another open session.
What we want to do is get this green belt buffer zone into there before they have to go back and redesign,” Redfearn said. The Takhini Neighbourhood Association (TNA), a group made up of residents in Takhini East, North and West, operates to improve communications with the government and participate in projects that impact their residents’ communities, the association website says. The Takhini Neighbourhood Association carried out a survey among residents in October 2024 to gauge how residents felt about the school relocation project.
These results were then delivered to cabinet ministers, including Education Minister Jeanie McLean. Takhini MLA White spoke to the over the phone on April 10 and discussed her constituent’s concerns regarding the impact the project could have on traffic from people travelling in from Whistlebend. She also mentioned the drop-in public meeting was the first time department officials held a meeting with the wider community.
“It's an open house that the Department of Education is having with Takhini. They've not had one before now, and I can't speak to what it's going to look like, because this will be the first time that my neighbours and folks around will actually have a chance to hear more from department officials,” White said. Yukon Party leader Currie Dixon spoke to the at the April 10 drop-in open house and expressed concern about the traffic circles and congestion easing measures not being budgeted by the government.
Dixon said as well that he raised several concerns in the legislature brought forward by various concerned parties since the October 2024 relocation announcement, including the sports community and the neighbour association. “There's been meetings held with various groups like Sport Yukon and Softball Yukon. I believe there was a meeting with the Takhini Neighbourhood Association, but never public, publicly available information like this here tonight,” Dixon said.
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