Parents and daycare staff request speed limit decrease for nearby street

REGINA – The employees and parents of a daycare in the northeast want the city to reduce the speed limit by 10 kilometres an hour on a nearby street they say has become dangerous.

“There’s even been a school bus that’s been rear-ended coming into our parking lot,” said Tara Jors on Friday, centre director at First Years Child Care.

About 90 families drop off and pick up children at the Winnipeg Street day care daily. The area sees more traffic thanks to the Regina Food Bank next door.

“We have a gate that we keep closed all the time, but children can learn to open our gate,” said Jors, who added that near-misses and accidents happen regularly on Winnipeg Street.

The worry is echoed by parents whose children attend the centre.

“My concern is that it is just a matter of time before something seriously goes wrong either in the form of an accident with a vehicle or an accident with a child,” said Marcy Gebhart, treasurer on the centre’s board of directors.

The board has unsuccessfully tried to lobby the city to implement a speed reduction to 40 kilometres and hour.

According to the city, no daycare away from a school has a speed reduction in place in Regina.

Choosing whether to implement one is dependent on several factors, including nearby traffic and how many students walk to a school.

The city ultimately follows guidelines by the Transportation Association of Canada.

“In day cares, the way they are set up is you need adult supervision when you drop off or pick up your kids, and we expect that kids are always under constant adult supervision when they around daycares,” said Ravi Seera, traffic manager for the city.

The Regina Police Service won’t take a position on whether road speeds near daycares should be reduced, but did remind that speed limits are maximums.

“You know, you can’t point to the sign and say, “The speed limit is…” It doesn’t exonerate you. You still have to drive for the conditions and be aware of the other users of the roadway, and always proceed with caution,” said RPS spokesperson Elizabeth Popowich.