Citizens who have been trying for years to get measures to improve traffic around schools decry the myriad obstacles they face. Despite the promises heard, they say, “Nothing will ever change.”
” We wrote many emails. We forget, we are not a priority. »
Along with other citizens, Magali Losel accelerates to slow down cars on Avenue Christophe-Columb in Montreal.
Between rue Jarry and boulevard Rosemont, three elementary schools line this avenue, where you drive “like a highway.”
On Tuesday, when his voice was tied Pres He was told that a child had been caught near a school in the Ville-Marie district. “My heart stops me. It’s my workhorse,” says M.me Loiselle, moved.
Over a decade, people who mobilized to slow down traffic in front of the Saint-Arsène school succeeded in increasing the speed in front of the school to 30 km/h, but the effect was limited.
Data collected by the CAA-Quebec Foundation in front of this school one morning last October showed that the average speed was 40 km/h, with 96% of drivers driving too fast.
People move very, very fast. They light the yellow lamp. When an arrow goes straight they turn and it’s the pedestrian’s turn. I saw people circling around and honking their horns happily.
Magali Lochelle, Mobilized Citizen
She decided to act out of fear of being beaten by her child one day. “We say to ourselves: There will be another. We are going to meet death in our conscience. »
In Quebec’s Saint-Roch district, citizens have rallied to protect the neighborhood of Berges Elementary School.
Photo courtesy of Marie-Pierre Lajoie, Vicky Plourde
Last year, an awareness-raising activity was organized by citizens near Les Berges Elementary School in Quebec City.
“We asked ourselves: what are we going to do to stop being afraid of being attacked?”, says Catherine Lefrancois, who lives in the neighborhood.
She underlines the “contradiction” of the layout in front of the school, where children are “crowded together” on a sidewalk.
“Cars go straight at 50 kmph. You’re stuck in your little corner,” Mom explains.
“It’s annoying and frustrating”
In Quebec, as in Montreal, citizens are often told to wait for protected crossing lights, more crossing guards, speed bumps or requests to divert traffic.
Awaiting work on the water supply network to redevelop a street. Awaiting the promised cycle path in a few years. Stay tuned for the renovations to come with the arrival of the tramway. Looking forward to the development plan for “2000 Something”, Catherine LeFrancois.
Even when installing a simple speed camera to educate motorists, he observes, “Everybody passes the buck, it’s complicated, it’s expensive.”
“It’s like David against Goliath”, Magali Loselle says abundantly.
Stéphanie Bellenger-Heng lives in the Ville-Marie district where the young woman was caught on Tuesday. He and other parents have rallied in recent years to add crossing guards to the sector.
He denounces “working in the trenches” of those with the power to change things, such as the city of Montreal and the police department. When his group of citizens asked for additional crossing guards, we were told they would have to be relocated.
It’s a way of making us feel guilty for putting the safety of other children at risk. We feel bad about this response from the city, which we realize is completely wrong.
Stéphanie Bellenger-Heng is a resident of Ville-Marie
Safety around schools is a matter of days at the start of the school year, observes the Montreal school board’s former school commissioner.
“It’s annoying and frustrating that things don’t move as much as they should. There’s talk, actions don’t follow talk,” says M.me Bellanger-Heng.
In Quebec, after years of citizen demands, “nothing has changed,” observes Catherine Lefrancois.
“We hope nothing serious will happen,” he gives up.
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