Slow Your Roll campaign alerts Lethbridge drivers to children playing outside

The tragic death of a 10-year-old Lethbridge boy who was hit by a car at the beginning of April has triggered a massive community response.

One Lethbridge man who was deeply shaken by the news decided to start his own campaign, asking drivers to “slow their roll” through neighborhoods where kids are at play.

“It’s important that we really look to people to slow down,” Slow Your Roll founder Chris DiPasquale said. “Because we’re seeing an increased rate of speeding which shouldn’t be happening because kids are out playing every day, especially as summer approaches. Drivers just are aware that these signs mean kids.”

DiPasquale is hand delivering his Slow Your Roll signs throughout Lethbridge, in exchange for donations to the Lethbridge Food Bank.

“A lot of kids were using the school programs to get healthy food, and now with not being in school, we’re just not sure if some of these kids are able to get food,” he said.

“So at least we’re going to provide some money to the Mindful Munchies program and they can keep delivering healthy food to kids.”

DiPasquale is a golf instructor, and says he’s concerned about his students, many of whom are likely out playing during quarantine, especially into the summer months.

He says his hope is that the signs act as an informal playground zone, so that drivers pay more attention and more tragedy can be avoided.

“It hit our community hard, and we just don’t want to see anything like this happening further,” DiPasquale said.

“It’s really just about keeping our kids safe.”

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After delivering more than a hundred signs throughout the city, DiPasquale says he has hundreds more to go this week.

He adds that the initiative’s Facebook page has even had people from communities in Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver reach out to request their own signs.

With a long list of requests yet to tackle, he jokes that he may need an assistant to help manage the new orders.

But he maintains that as long as people in the community want to put up signs or donate to the cause, he will continue to hand deliver them.