EDMONTON – In the wake of a six-year-old boy’s death, St Albert City Council has approved a committee to look at how the city can make the walk to school safer for students.
“We had an unfortunate fatality several months ago,” said Mayor Nolan Crouse. “Immediately after that fatality, we asked the city manager to review all school sites to see if there’s anything systemic within the school sites.”
The committee will include traffic experts, community members, an RCMP officer, a councillor, and administration.
On Monday, council also voted to allocate $200,000 collected from red light tickets to study traffic safety in school zones.
“For me, personally, I look at the crosswalks all over this city and I’m always concerned about are they properly lit? Is their lighting proper? What about in the winter when you can’t see the crosswalk markings? Are all the signages right?” asked Crouse.
Any changes that come out of the committee would affect close to 30 schools in St Albert.
Six-year-old Thomas Wedman was hit by a school bus on Sept. 27, 2013. The St Albert boy was on his way to school and was crossing the street near Ecole Marie Poburan when he was struck and killed.
READ MORE: Thomas Wedman’s family thanks community ahead of memorial
The driver of the school bus is charged with driving carelessly and failing to yield to a pedestrian.
Monday morning, Joseph Allen’s lawyer entered a ‘not guilty’ plea on behalf of his client.
Allen has been suspended pending an internal investigation. His trial is set for June 24.
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