St. Albert students should have a safer time getting to school this fall thanks to a new city policy.
St. Albert accepted the Safe Journeys to School report last March. The report created a list of safety improvements to be made at 26 existing city schools and two planned ones relating to how students get to school, many of which were to be completed within a year.
Last June 22, council received a seven-year $3.75-million plan to implement those improvements.
City crews have installed many new traffic signals and upgraded crosswalks in the months since then, said Coun. Tim Osborne, chair of the Safe Journeys to School team.
Muriel Martin and Sturgeon Heights schools now have new crosswalks on Desmarais Crescent and North Ridge Drive, for example. The Larose Drive crossing near Bertha Kennedy School has been repainted with zebra-type stripes for greater visibility. Crews have trimmed trees to make signs more visible and upgraded many yield signs to stop signs.
The St. Albert public board has also changed its bus routes so that almost all its stops are now at St. Albert Transit stops, said board secretary-treasurer Michael Brenneis. These stops are generally more visible than others and are cleared of snow each winter.
The Gazette heard from several residents that claimed this new policy forced their children to walk long distances and cross many busy streets, making them less safe than they were before.
Many of these complaints were due to the automated route-planning software used by the board, which frequently requires manual tweaks, Brenneis said. The board is working with these residents to find them better bus stops.
Osborne said he’s encouraged by these initial results, but notes that there’s a lot more work to be done.
“It’s just a matter of keeping on it.”
St. Albert-area students can practise getting to school on the bus safely this week by checking out First Rider’s Night.
The St. Albert Catholic and public boards are both holding First Rider’s Night events this week. The events are meant to give first-time school bus riders and their parents a chance to learn about the school bus before classes resume.
About 130 people typically come out to the public board’s event, Brenneis said.
Students at these events will view a video about riding the bus and learn the danger zones to avoid around buses. They will also get to go on a test ride.
The public board event is at Sir Alexander Mackenzie this Aug. 27 with sessions at 4:30, 5, and 5:30 p.m. Guests should call 780-460-3712 to register before they attend.
The Catholic board is holding two first rider’s events. The Morinville one is this Aug. 26 at Notre Dame, while the St. Albert one is at Neil M. Ross on Aug. 27. Sessions are at 5:30 and 6 p.m. Call 780-459-7711 to register.
Expect to get a ticket if you exceed 30 km/h past a school starting Monday, St. Albert RCMP warn – school zones are back in effect Aug. 31.
School zones are only in effect while school is in session in Alberta, said St. Albert RCMP Cpl. Laurel Kading.
That means they’ll kick back in on Aug. 31, which is the first day of school for area schools. The RCMP plans to be out in force to enforce them, Kading said.
In St. Albert, school zones run from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and have a speed limit of 30 km/h, Kading said. Zone times and speed limits may be different in the county, so check signs carefully.
