Large windrows in front of a south Edmonton elementary school are causing a major concern for parents and staff.
“Our problem is that the windrows and the snowplows have made quite large hills (and) the kids can’t get out of the cars on the safe side, on the passenger side. They’re having to step out into traffic,” Crawford Plains Elementary School Principal Jeanne Carter explained.
“We’re really concerned about the safety of our children here at our school,” she added.
Parents are concerned their children are having to climb over the large windrows in order to access the sidewalk to their school.
“The kids, as they’re coming out, they’re slipping and they’re almost getting under the vehicles,” said Shawna Jago, whose children attend the school.
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Carter says it’s a problem the school has dealt with in the past, and this year is no different. Many worried parents have called 3-1-1 to address their concerns, but say they haven’t heard anything in return.
The city says crews have been working to remove the windrows from main arterial roads over the past week and a half. School zones will see windrows removed over the Christmas break, when there are no kids or traffic in the area.
“The safest time to do it is when there is no school,” explained Bob Dunford with The City of Edmonton, “In a very short period of time you could have, literally, hundreds of vehicles showing up dropping off children so, it’s not a good time.”
Dunford says this time frame is actually earlier than what school zones have seen in past years.
“We usually don’t start the removal on the collector roadways, including schools, not much before early to mid-January.”
Parents are pleased to hear the windrows will be gone by the time their children head back to school on January 7th however, Carter worries the problem will only persist.
“I worry, though, that we’re likely to have snow after Christmas too, and we still need to keep it cleared, so it’s important that we get it cleared as quickly as possible and as frequently as possible,” she said, “We certainly don’t want to have an accident happen.”
With files from Fletcher Kent.