Six weeks after a parent complained about speeding traffic at Rochester elementary the city of Coquitlam has installed a warning signal in an attempt to slow down drivers.
The board, similar to those that flash the speed of vehicles when they exceed to speed limit, can be programmed to only operate 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on school days. It also collects data that can be accessed by city staff to analyze stats on the volume and speed of vehicles at all hours.
“There’s a body of motorists that may not actually know when school is in session,” said Coquitlam transportation manager Dan Mooney.
In late January, parent Jill Robillard asked for some action to be taken because drivers regularly breezed through the crosswalk at Decaire Street and Madore Avenue. The board was installed on the west side of Decaire to warn southbound drivers when they’re going too fast down the hill on days when school is in session. It knows not to activate the warning during spring break, summer holidays, Christmas, pro-D days and even knows when the clocks change for daylight savings and standard time.
“This is a pilot,” said Mooney. “We’re going to assess it. “We’re in it for the long haul. We want to see what we can tweak and upgrade and where would we implement this next. There are a number of elementary schools on these quasi-collector roads [like Decaire] that could benefit from these type of devices. We will assess it over the spring and try to introduce a larger program in the new school year.”
Some drivers use Decaire to connect between Austin and Brunette avenues or the Lougheed Highway.
The sign not only flashes the speed and a command to slow down, but the mandatory five-sided school zone sign also has a bead of lights on the edges that flashes.
“I’m pretty happy with that,” said Robillard. “We’ll see what happens after spring break.”
She’d also like to see something to slow down speeders going up the hill as well.
Mooney said the city has already had a request from Porter elementary for a similar sign. “If this is successful I could see this be at a number of schools in Coquitlam.”
It was installed on March 6 but was left dark for the first few days so it could collect data on how fast drivers were going without it. But this past week it was turned on.
Mooney said the lights, the radar unit and the data collection put the cost at about $5,000. “It’s not an inexpensive item.” The city hopes to get a grant from ICBC to help offset the cost. He also said the RCMP were interested in the data to determine if there were other times of the day that police should consider for enforcement.
