A near miss in a crosswalk at Coquitlam River elementary this week has one parent upset about traffic conditions in front of the school and worried someone could get hurt because of risks some drivers are taking.
Brian Holford watched in horror Wednesday as a car tried to drive around a child who had fallen in a crosswalk. The car eventually stopped when a parent made a move to grab the child and yelled at the driver but Holford said the incident is only one of many he’s witnessed in recent weeks.
“It just angers me every day when I see the way people drive by the school. It’s sadder the majority are parents dropping kids off,” said Holford.
The school is located on Shaughnessy Street in Coquitlam, a busy thoroughfare at the best of times, but particularly gridlocked in the mornings as students make their way to school.
He said the school is constantly sending out emails to ask parents to be more careful in the turnarounds and to not block traffic and the principal is often outside trying to maintain calm.
But some of the problems are caused by the fact that the road is also a popular route for commuters, who are just driving through, often at unsafe speeds.
Holford would like to see some more traffic enforcement and thinks crossing guards could help stop traffic but other than that he’s not sure what the solution is.
“I never worried about it until the last few months, just how dangerous it is for our kids,” said Holford, who recently started walking his child to school each day.
His call for calm in speed zones comes as School District 43 is mounting a social media campaign to ask drivers to slow down and look around in school zones.
And it seems the campaign has hit a nerve, with dozens of comments on The Tri-City News' Facebook page about improper drop-off at elementary and middle schools. The posts note that cars parked unsafely or illegally are among the biggest problems at school drop-off and pick up times.
In an earlier comment, Coquitlam RCMP said cars blocking traffic is one of the biggest problems in school zones and enforcement is part of the force’s regular patrol.
SD43 spokesperson Peter Chevrier said the district hopes the social media safety campaign will spread the word about the need to be more careful in school zones.
“Our recent campaign to generate a surge of increased awareness has been supported by many community partner organizations and community members and we thank everyone for their support. Going forward we plan to continue our messaging as periodic reminders,” Chevrier stated in an email.
