St. Vital councillor wants city to study crosswalk safety on St. Anne’s Road

City traffic engineers could look at putting a traffic light where an eight-year-old was tragically killed Tuesday.

The boy was in a lighted crosswalk on St. Anne’s Road during the morning rush when he was hit by a truck.

St. Vital councillor Brian Mayes has already asked for a study of the busy road, and wants it to be expanded to look at this crosswalk.

“I had asked for a study just north of this location where people had raised concerns that they found it difficult to get out onto the street because there was so much traffic going up and down St. Anne’s,” Mayes told Global News.

“Obviously there’s an issue there. We have to get this study done. We need our traffic engineers to take a look at it.”

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Mayes said the city did look at putting a traffic light up near the McDonald’s after a resident raised the issue in 2012, but staff recommended against the idea.

“A lot of people have made that request that there should be a traffic light there,” Mayes explained. “I don’t have the power to unilaterally command that but it is something we should go back and take a look at. I can’t say for sure that a traffic light is the best approach but we really do need to look at this.”

The boy was a student at École Varennes, part of the Louis Riel School Division, which pays for a crossing guard to be at the crosswalk during certain hours.

But Mayes has been told that the shift ended just before the tragic incident happened.

“I don’t know that it’s particularly busy but obviously there’s something happening there. People aren’t paying attention, they’re distracted, something’s going on and we need to take a look at that.”