Safety first as thousands of children head back to school
It was back to school Tuesday for more than 150,000 Edmonton public and Catholic school students.
"I am hopeful that parents are paying attention ... take some extra time, slow down, get our kids here safely," said Camille Loken, principal at Dr. Donald Massey School in northeast Edmonton.
In September, as students head back to school, speeding in 30 km/h school zones is not the biggest problem, said Sgt. Kerry Bates, Edmonton police safety coordinator.
"It's other behaviours: U-turns, double parking, crosswalk violations."
Police will be operating photo radar at schools across the city this week and will be ticketing those not following the speed limit or committing other violations, Bates said.
Parents dropping off their children at school need to obey traffic signs, he said.
"Make sure you're not creating a situation where you're double parked or causing your kids to have to jump out between cars or unload on the street side of the car," Bates said.
Parents and drivers who pass through school zones as part of their commute are encouraged to give themselves five or 10 extra minutes in the morning to get where they are going safely, he said.
Drivers and pedestrians are also reminded to follow the rules when it comes to crosswalks, he said.
"Pedestrians should look before they just jump off the curb into a crosswalk and motorists should try and be as courteous as possible, too," Bates said.
He encourages pedestrians to use a hand signal before crossing the street, he said.
"You feel like you're back in kindergarten, for an adult, but that's what works for motorists, to let them know you do want to cross," Bates said.
It's a violation for motorists to drive past a pedestrian using a hand signal indicating they want to cross the street, he added.
Teachers will spend some classroom time this week reminding children about school rules and how to stay safe going to and from school, Loken said.
School bus driver George Bowler advises drivers to "just pay attention."
"You never know where kids might run," Bowler said from his parked school bus outside École Sainte-Jeanne-d'Arc.
Children are taught certain rules on leaving a school bus, but they don't always follow them, he said Tuesday.
"Every once in a while kids will cross the road where they shouldn't."
