A snow covered memorial rests where a 27-year-old woman was killed on Kingsclear First Nation in September.
It’s a solemn reminder of a life lost and a First Nations community left to pick up the pieces.
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“Any age, someone dying is pretty tragic but someone so young it’s pretty crazy,” said Kendal Solomon, a gas attendant at Wulastuku Convenience, which sits close to where the memorial rests.
On Sept. 7, Alyssia Paul was struck and killed by a pick-up truck while crossing Highway 102 towards the convenience store, which is a popular spot to gas up and get something to eat.
Community members have been lobbying the provincial government to lower the speed limit from 100 km/h on what locals refer to as “the old highway.”
The band council recently voted in favor of building a pedestrian pass underneath the road, measuring about 9 feet by 9 feet.
“We have to prevent this from happening again so this is one of the reasons why we moved as fast as we could,” said Derek Solomon, a Kingsclear First Nation band councillor.
“When it’s done and completed and hopefully with talking to the right people, the right departments, we will get help on this.”
The band council hired a consultant to look at the number of people crossing the highway. It discovered in just a 27-hour period, 47 people crossed the stretch of road. Solomon says it was the jolt they needed to get things done.
“It triggered off an alarm for me that this is imperative that we get something done here,” he said.
Construction of the passage is expected to be completed by Dec. 17.