A recent collision on a city pathway is a reminder to stay alert and stay safe on the pathways and trails.
On the evening of July 8, Hazel Gould, 66, says she and her husband were taking their daily walk on the path along the Sturgeon River when Gould was struck on her leg and ankle by a runaway skateboard.
Gould and her husband were on the east side of the footbridge on the south side of the river when suddenly a male voice called out, “Move over.”
The individual had obviously lost control of his skateboard, which knocked Gould off to the side of the path and onto the grass.
Gould’s ankle started to immediately swell and turn colour on both sides. The male individual did stop, and sincerely apologized for the collision and then continued on his way. Information was not exchanged at that time.
An x-ray ruled out a broken ankle, but Gould had to miss three days of work and two weeks later her foot is still bruised, swollen and painful.
“The pain is crazy,” she says.
Corporal Laurel Kading of the St. Albert RCMP says it’s important that everyone think about safety when they are on the pathways.
“You just have to be able to slow down, make sure that you’re giving people notice,” Kading says. “And unintentionally, there can be times where you didn’t realize that you were coming up on a person that fast. But I’ve found that people are very good at either calling out or ringing their bike bell or saying ‘I’m on your left’, or whatever.”
Gould relayed that it’s important for people to alert pedestrians of their presence when coming up from behind on the trail.
“There are a lot of bicyclers. It’s good when they blow their horn – sometimes they don’t. It’s always good for people to know that they’re coming behind because sometimes you don’t hear them,” Gould says.
Working in the hospital environment, Gould is familiar with the degree of injury that can result from accidents.
The RCMP is happy to see that the pathways are well-used, but Kading says people need to watch for each other.
“There are some corners that are more blind corners – things like that,” she says. “There are areas where you have to be more wary whether you’re a pedestrian or runner, or if you’re on a bike or a skateboard.”
Kading says generally St. Albertans feel safe on the trails and there have not been reports of any major issues.
“We’ve had a lot of feedback that people have been very pleased with the trails, that they feel safe on them, that they feel like they’re much better than they used to be,” says Kading. “So we haven’t really had any issues that have come to my attention.”
The one area Kading says officers have commented on is with respect to people wearing earbuds on the trails.
“When (cyclists) are trying to ring their bell and say, ‘I’m coming up on you’, and they can’t get the person’s attention, that does become dangerous,” Kading says.
Gould says she doesn’t want to see a worse injury than hers occur on the pathways and as a precaution when utilizing such busy paths, a tether strap on the skateboard could have prevented her injury.
“I’m not concerned about myself, I’m just concerned about a really bad accident where someone would fall down and hit their head or something – that’s what scares me.”
