Parents are reacting with shock after learning that school crossing guards will be removed from nine locations in London.

The move will affect about 84 students crossing some of the city's busiest streets.

City hall took over responsibility for the school crossings program from London police last year, and the changes are the result of a review examining where crossing guards are required, and where they are not.

The intersections expected to lose crossing guards include:

  • Wharncliffe Road North at Blackfriars Street
  • Byron Base Line Road at Griffith Street
  • Emery Street East at Wellington Road
  • Central Avenue at Maitland Street
  • Commissioners Road East at Frontenac Road
  • Commissioners Road West at Viscount Road
  • York Street at Lyle Street
  • Tweedsmuir Avenue at Hale Street
  • Cheapside Street at Maitland Street

Two new locations are being added though, at Chambers Avenue at Hastings Drive and 825 Valetta Street.

The city engineer says the move is not about saving money, but about establishing clear standards for when a crossing guard is warranted and when it isn't based on the number of students, traffic volumes and the type of crossing.

Currently 106 crossing guards get children to and from school safely every day.

With the additions and subtractions, the net savings to city hall's crossing guard budget is expected to be $43,000.

Already the Catholic school board is raising safety concerns, sending six letters to city hall objecting to the reduction.

Locations scheduled to lose their crossing guards will have count down crossing signals installed and enhanced painting on the asphalt.