Schools and Playgrounds

The Parent Advisory Council for Hans Helgesen Elementary School near Victoria wanted to solve pedestrian safety issues on Rocky Point Road. The Council was working with the District of Metchosin and wanted to have a marked crosswalk installed at that road's intersection with Windover Terrace. The District was reluctant to do this.

We place a high value on our children and signify that with school and playground zones. Traffic is required to slow to the lowest speed limit that we normally post and drivers are expected to pay more attention than usual. Students must get to and from school safely.

Having said that, sometimes the greatest danger in a school zone is presented by parents and teachers.

This could potentially be my 30th back to school article since I started writing about traffic safety. With that observation comes the question of how can I possibly write something new on the subject? It’s not like I’m going to be the only one that tries to draw your attention to the topic in the next couple of weeks. Everyone has a stake in this facet of road safety, but do we truly have your attention and will you give it some thought?

schoolzone is a very interesting app created during a hackathon using open data provided by ICBC and the provincial government. Visit the site, enter your home address, your child's school address and press GO to find the most direct route to the school displayed on the map. The map also displays crash locations. To avoid them, simply drag the route to adjust it to a safer path.

Back to school! Time to learn about waiting your turn, lining up nicely, being courteous to others and following the rules. No, I'm not talking about students, I'm talking about the adults because many of the traffic problems found in school zones are caused by parents driving their children to school. Even the occasional teacher might bend the rules if they are late for work.