The Editor,
As a parent of a young child at Glen elementary school in Coquitlam, I am concerned for mine and my child's safety. Every day, I walk my child to and from school. I always cross at the pedestrian crosswalk with him (and another little one, who is often in a stroller) and it scares the life out of me.
Before drop-off in the morning and pick-up in the afternoon, you will find parents driving like lunatics. They are rushing to drop off or pick up their child and, due to the lack of parking, are stopping everywhere and anywhere on Glen.
I cannot tell you how many times I have been waiting in the crosswalk to cross Glen at Eastwood and a parent has gone flying through the crosswalk, oblivious to the fact that I am standing there with two little ones. One would think that if you have a child attending the school, you just might be a little more empathetic to other parents.
Just this morning, a mom who saw me waiting in the crosswalk accelerated through the crosswalk. When I screamed at her as she whizzed through, she looked at me as if she had done absolutely nothing wrong. If I didn't have the common sense to always wait until I am 100% positive a car is going to stop, she would have run my son and me over.
This afternoon, a courteous driver stopped to allow us to cross but the driver behind him pulled out from behind him and so she could pass. Had she not been going slowly and seen us in the middle of the crosswalk, she would have hit us.
I wonder what it needs to happen before something is done regarding this situation? Does someone have to lose their life because some parent was in a rush to drop off or pick up their child? Something needs to be done immediately.
The city needs to put in speed bumps, there needs to be a crossing guard or RCMP officers have to be present to ensure our children are kept safe. A solution needs to be found before something bad happens.
Diego & Kathleen Epherre, Coquitlam
