Kids returned to school at Margaret Manson Elementary School on Wednesday, and already some drivers are having to deal with strictly enforced parking rules.
“Sometimes we’re having to stop in places we shouldn’t be stopping to drop off our kids, and we do it anyway because we want to drop off our kids safely,” said Nadia Chartrand, mother of two students.
Wednesday was the first day of the 2018-19 school year for most kids in the Lester B. Pearson School Board, which administers English language schools in the West Island and beyond.
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As traffic increases with students heading back to school, drivers are becoming less patient and taking greater risks, according to traffic analyst Rick Leckner.
It’s enough of an issue that school officials met with city officials to make adjacent streets safer.
“We asked how we could help partner and what we can do with our situation in our pick-up and drop-off zones,” said principal Stephanie Herault.
Kirkland public safety officers were at the school Tuesday morning, strictly enforcing parking restrictions. Parents also told Global News that U-turns and cars backing up unexpectedly are issues.
Parent Mary Teixera’s son provided input to the school about his experiences with safety last year.
“There were a few cars parked here and a couple of them actually backed up without paying attention and hit the car in the back,” she said. Fortunately, she said no one was hurt.
School officials hope the city or police will send at least one officer three days a week.
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