Since the death of six-year-old Thomas Wedman, who was struck by a school bus on Woodlands Road while walking to school in September 2013, there have been calls by RCMP and parents to change driver behaviour.
Calls were again renewed when an 11-year-old girl was struck in a marked crosswalk by Ă©cole Secondaire Sainte Marguerite d'Youville at the end of October.
Since launching the Safe Journeys to School initiative after Thomas' death, a project aimed at improving traffic safety at school sites, RCMP and municipal enforcement officers have visibly ramped up their presence around area school zones.
New data released by the city reflects those numbers.
Between September 2012 and June 2013, 276 tickets were given to drivers travelling in school zones spanning Sir Winston Churchill Avenue.
Tickets were given for traffic violations including but not limited to speeding, distracted driving, illegal U-turns, tinted windows and lack of proof of vehicle insurance.
Between September 2013 and June 2014, more than 1,500 tickets were given out to drivers, this time in all school zones in the S.E. quadrant of the city.
The expanded geographic area is one contributing factor to the increase in the number of tickets issued, explained Garnet Melnyk, municipal enforcement officer with the City of St. Albert.
More manpower – no new positions but positions filled and "finally running at near full strength" – is another contributing factor, he added.
Between Jan. 1 and Oct. 22 of this year, there have been a total of 835 vehicle collisions. One was fatal, four were classified as major injury – where persons with injuries were admitted to hospital – 91 classified as minor injury and the rest property damage only (exceeding $2,000).
Three vehicle collisions have involved pedestrians: one fatality (a 79-year-old pedestrian was backed into in a McDonald's parking lot in May), one minor injury (at the controlled intersection of Sir Winston Churchill Avenue and Riel Drive in May, the vehicle was turning left and struck a pedestrian) and one classified as property damage only (between Boudreau Road and Inglewood Drive in January, not in a crosswalk).
In interviews with the Gazette, parents of elementary and junior high-aged students have expressed concern about drivers failing to yield to pedestrians in both marked and controlled crosswalks.
Data from the city's traffic safety committee shows left turn collisions have dropped from 112 in 2013 to 40 so far this year – in large part due to the implementation of protected only left turns at various intersections on St. Albert Trail.
Over the last two decades in the City of Edmonton, there has been a slight decline in pedestrian-vehicle collisions. There were 298 in 2013.
"With an increase in population and motor vehicles – it’s better news when you look at it in total," said Gerry Shimko, executive director of the Office of Traffic Safety with the City of Edmonton.
The city is working with researchers from the University of British Columbia to do safety reviews of each school zone – in wake of the new 30 km/h speed limits.
Annual campaigns, such as the Heads Up campaign last November aimed at relaying information to drivers and pedestrians about safety at pedestrian crossings, helps educate the public, he said.
Research will guide the direction of future awareness campaigns.
"The next biggest problem we’ll be facing is around distracted driving and distracted walking. We’re hearing more (about) people plugging into technology – listened to iTunes or talking on their phone – and walking into traffic unsafely," said Shimko.
In St. Albert, school zones have been reviewed as part of the Safe Journeys to School Initiative. A report is due before council in December.
