Watch above: In the wake of a young boy’s death, the City of St. Albert is holding public consultations to gather feedback on how to make school zones safer. Fletcher Kent has the details.
EDMONTON – In the wake of a young boy’s death, the city of St. Albert is launching public consultations on how to increase safety in and around school zones.
Tuesday morning the city announced details of the “Safe Journeys to School” initiative, which includes open houses and an online survey.
It all stems from the death of Thomas Wedman. The six-year-old was hit by a school bus on Sept. 27, 2013. The boy was on his way to school and was crossing the street near Ecole Marie Poburan when he was struck and killed.
READ MORE: Child struck and killed by school bus in St. Albert
St. Albert’s “Safe Journeys to School” initiative will see 21 open houses take place in June, August and September. The city says the goal is to gain a better understanding of how students travel to and from school, as well as identify ways to enhance safety.
The open houses are being led by The Joint Public Steering Committee, which was formed earlier this year.
“What we want to do is get as much feedback as we can.” says St. Albert City Councillor Tim Osborne, who is chair of the committee. “We’re looking at it from a number of different perspectives. We’re looking at engineering, traffic data and then we’re going right to the source — asking the kids, the youth, the families, trying to see what their experience has been with their trips to school, and if they’ve seen any challenges were they think we can make some changes.”
Osborne believes one of the biggest challenges is people being in a rush in the morning.
“People are hurrying, and so they get distracted. So we just need to make sure that the kids are aware, that the parents are aware of where people are crossing, how they are getting there,” he said.
“Just getting people to slow down is probably one of our biggest challenges.”
All St. Albert families with school-aged children are urged to fill out an online survey, which will be live on June 9,2014. Those who cannot attend the open houses are also encouraged to participate.
A full list of the open house dates and locations can be found below.
The driver of the school bus, Joseph Allen, is charged with with careless driving and failing to yield to a pedestrian. His trial is set for June 24.
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