Shocked by the surge in pedestrian deaths, which is also not sparing Quebec’s school zones, parents and elected officials demonstrated Tuesday outside more than 25 schools across the province to demand increased safety in active travel at schools, where they say : The smoothness of motorized transport always takes precedence over child safety.
Updated yesterday at 2:03pm.
“We have been told that announcements are coming, but announcements and promises do not protect our children’s lives,” said Kassandre Chéry Théodat, president of the board of directors at La Visitation school, where a signalman was violently hit by a motorist in early January.
Ms Chéry said she came to demonstrate for changes to take place now.
“Around the school, drivers think they are the kings of the road. They don’t respect anything and it is our children and we who have to live with this increase in danger. That has to change today. »
PHOTO PATRICK SANFAÇON, THE PRESS
Parents and children demonstrated in front of the La Visitation school in Montreal.
Haroun Bouazzi, provincial MP for Maurice Richard riding, was present at the protest and noted that “the fewer cars there are, the lower the risk of collision” near schools.
“Well, if we hear that [Société de transport de Montréal] says it will reduce its services during peak hours, it’s hard to understand how the Quebec government doesn’t feel it is their responsibility to invest in 2023 and at least allow the city of Montreal to maintain service,” he argues .
Manon Massé, MP for Sainte-Marie-Saint-Jacques, was part of the demonstration outside the Jean-Baptiste-Meilleur primary school attended by young Mariia Fleckenkovska, who was fatally run over by a driver in the school area last month. . Several other elected officials from Québec Solidaire, including Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois and Vincent Marissal, also participated in the mobilization.
Family mobilizations in front of schools also took place in Outaouais, Quebec and Sherbrooke.
In the office of Geneviève Guilbault, Minister for Transport and Sustainable Mobility, they say they take the file seriously.
“We understand the parents who ran this morning,” said spokesman Louis-Julien Dufresne. Accidents involving pedestrians deeply sadden us. Every accident is one too many. »
He notes that the government doubled fines for speeding in school zones in 2019. “Our government has invested 55 million to support our communities who want to secure bike or pedestrian crossings, especially near schools. We also invested 50 million [Société de l’assurance automobile du Québec] for road awareness and prevention campaigns to help citizens understand the impact of their driving. Together with the municipalities, we will continue to do everything we can to prevent accidents and save lives. »
PHOTO PATRICK SANFAÇON, THE PRESS
Sandrine Cabana Degani
Sandrine Cabana-Degani, executive director of Piétons Québec, said dissatisfaction among citizens and families had reached a peak.
“People are mobilizing to say enough is enough, the uncertainty around the schools. They no longer want to accept that deaths and serious injuries are part of the rules of the game, the players must stop passing the buck on one another, and that is why we are demanding a state road safety concept. »
Piéton’s Quebec was recently able to meet with Ms. Guilbault’s office. “We have felt openness and listening and are awaiting an appointment to meet the minister,” Ms. Cabana-Degani said.
According to Quebec Liberal Party leader Marc Tanguay, it is not enough to say that road safety rules are known.
“We need to run awareness campaigns. […] We have to make people aware of road traffic [au fait] that they will enter a school area. And it’s zero tolerance for offenders,” he said during a press crowd in Lac-Beauport, north of Quebec, where the official opposition is holding its pre-session gathering these days.
Poor equipment
Ahead of La Visitation school, several parents reported widely on the uncertainty they experience in the mornings and afternoons when children’s excursions take place on road structures that encourage speeding by motorists.
“There are no speed bumps near the school so we’re seeing speed,” said one parent, who said his name was Didier. We never see the police except for this morning, but we see dangerous behavior by drivers around children literally every day. »
PHOTO PATRICK SANFAÇON, THE PRESS
A police officer arrests a poorly parked driver near a school.
Annie Lamalice, a mother from Ahuntsic County, lamented the lack of bicycle infrastructure in her neighborhood, which is crowded with families with young children.
“We are approached by motorists on bikes and on foot. It’s not comfortable. This does not encourage people to be active on the road, although we know that by doing so we will reduce traffic congestion and car dependency. »
Ms. Lamalice says that the Avenue Papineau near the school is “a real highway” that emphasizes transit with motorized vehicles and has no traffic calming measures. There is no bike lane on Papineau Street, so the very wide lanes encourage motorists to speed up, she noted.
“The kids in the neighborhood deserve better,” she said.
With the collaboration of Hugo Pilon-Larose, La Presse