Edmonton school tries to battle parent parking problems
There's an experiment in traffic safety happening in north Edmonton, where one school is being used as a model for changes that may soon be seen across the city.
Video cameras were recently set up to monitor traffic outside Dr. Donald Massey School, which had a reputation as one of the city's most problematic school zones.
The two-month study showed that jaywalking, improper student drop-offs and illegal parking were the most common traffic safety problems at the school.
Principal Camille Loken reviewed the videos and didn't like what she saw.
"It was actually a little bit like watching a scary movie," she said. "Many times I was gasping.
"When I was looking at that video, we're seeing things like parents not paying attention to the stop signs, parking in the crosswalks, pulling U-turns. Certainly not doing the speed limit. Some behaviours that are quite concerning in terms of the safety of our students."
The Donald Massey study pinpointed several ways to make the school zone safer, said Gerry Shimko, executive director of the city's office of traffic safety.
"This school serves as our prototype. Using this technology, and as part of our five-year road safety strategy, we plan to review 108 schools."
To try to cut down on dangerous behaviours, the city put in new lane and crosswalk markings, and new flashing beacons at the two main crosswalks. They painted sign posts: stops signs are now on red poles; school-zone signs now have reflective neon poles.
Since last February, the school has had two parent volunteers who try to keep traffic flowing along 162nd Avenue.
Darren Reynes was out there volunteering in the rain Tuesday, as he is most mornings
"Today was bad," he said. "It wasn't the worst I've seen, but it was bad."
He has a hockey referee's whistle on a string around his neck. He blows it, a lot.
The school asks parents to pull their vehicles all the way to the end of the drop-off zone. But many are in a rush and stop as close to the front doors as they can.
'I've been screamed at'
"It's the same parents who keep breaking the rules," said Reynes. "They've cursed at us. I've been threatened, I've been screamed at."
On Tuesday, he took a photograph of one licence plate after the driver refused to follow the rules.
Traffic enforcement officers have had a campaign in place at the school since the first day of school. They say that will continue until ticket numbers begin to decline.
Brendan Bolstad, parking enforcement program analyst with the city, said too many parents park in crosswalks, in bus zones, or double park in front of schools.
Fines for such infractions are typically $50.
Parent Shawn Odeen has two kids in the K-9 school. She said she often sees parents blocking crosswalks, so kids are forced to dodge and weave among cars as they cross the street.
"It (makes you) sick to your stomach to watch," she said. "They're just in such a rush to either get to work or where they're going that the extra two minutes it would take … to park a few blocks down is just not worth it, I guess."
Meanwhile, with the start of a new school year, many drivers are once again speeding through school zones.
Police say they monitored 76 schools last week during the first four days of the new school year.
Of the 16,000 vehicles that passed through the school zones, 2,100 drivers were given tickets.
That's one in eight.
The new 30 km/h speed limits outside schools were put in place in September 2014.
For two months last fall, police handed out a total of 5,480 warnings, instead of tickets.
The grace period ended in early November. But after four months many drivers continued to ignore the posted limits.
On a single day last January, a total of 1,065 vehicles were caught speeding in school zones across the city.
