Parents call for protective bollards after car crashes into schoolyard

Jenna Legge · CBC News

· Posted: Aug 20, 2026 11:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: August 21

The Ottawa-Carleton District School Board (OCDSB) is installing concrete barriers outside an Ottawa elementary school after a vehicle smashed through a fence and into the schoolyard near Greenbank Road earlier this month.

Since the crash, more than 200 people have signed an online petition to the Ontario Ministry of Education, the OCDSB and the City of Ottawa to express their concern that another incident could occur at Knoxdale Public School.

Behind the petition is Rebecca Taggart, a parent with two young kids at the school.

"I see how fast drivers go down this road," she said. "When I saw where [the vehicle crashed] onto the turf, it's exactly where my daughter's kindergarten class lines up and where my son spends his recess playing soccer."

The petition calls for bollards to be installed along the sidewalk that borders the play yard in front of the school, and asks for the play area to be temporarily relocated to the rear of the school building until new safety measures are in place.

The car struck the fence on Aug. 6, coming to rest in the yard where Taggart says younger students play during recess.

Ottawa paramedics said the elderly woman driving the car may have experienced a medical emergency before the collision. She was taken to hospital in stable condition, paramedics said. 

Classes were not in session at the time, and no one else was injured in the incident.

Politicians offer support

As of Wednesday evening, Taggart said she had heard back from Knoxdale-Merivale Coun. Sean Devine and Laine Johnson, the councillor for nearby College ward. 

She said she also heard back from Mark Sutcliffe's chief of staff, who said the mayor's office has been in touch with the OCDSB and will work with the board if a joint solution is required.

Taggart said Ottawa West-Nepean MPP Chandra Pasma's office told her Pasma would be happy to write a letter supporting the call for better safety measures at the school.

In a Facebook post on Aug. 16, Devine said he was working to find a "relatively simple, low-cost solution" to the problem.

"If there had been students there at that time, that would have been a tragedy. I don't know how it wouldn't have been something quite horrific and unthinkable," said Devine, whose own children attended Knoxdale Public School.

"I know that many parents ... are looking for some kind of measure, and I think they're justified in pursuing it," he told CBC News.

Lower-cost solutions

Other potential solutions being considered include improved signage and extending a nearby median to prevent traffic from crossing lanes, Devine said.

"I'm hearing from parents who want to see a change, and I'm hearing from residents who are wanting to make sure that perhaps the most economical change is put in place," he said. 

Devine said he has requested a meeting with the school board and provincial officials to discuss potential next steps. 

A spokesperson for the OCDSB confirmed all necessary repairs to the fence will be completed in time for the school year.

The board added that it is reviewing the situation, but did not elaborate on potential next steps.

While Taggart agrees that concrete barriers could prevent another crash, she says they aren't a long-term solution.

"They're not going to get to the root of the issue, which is chronic speeding and a chronic lack of enforcement."

Last September, Ontario Education Minister Paul Calandra ordered daycares in the province to restrict vehicle parking in areas adjacent to playgrounds, windows, entryways and some exterior walls during hours of operation. The directive came after a vehicle slammed into a daycare in Richmond Hill, Ont., killing a 1 1/2-year-old boy and injuring six other young children and three adults.