Like every morning, my father walked down the street near his house. In his countryside in Montérégie, he was mowed down by a vehicle one autumn morning. He died at the age of 83.
Last December 13, young Mariia went to school in Montreal with her brother and sister. A tiny refugee from Ukraine with big blue eyes was killed by a fleeing motorist. She was only 7 years old.
avoidable
There are too many stories like this. Way too many, as SAAQ numbers show.
On average, 65 people are killed each year in Quebec. That’s more than one death a week.
And what about injured pedestrians? In the last 5 years there were over 12,000.
So much avoidable drama.
No luxury
Walking to school or walking to stay healthy shouldn’t be dangerous. It is common sense to create facilities that encourage walking and cycling. For the health of people and the planet.
When walking is tiring, uncomfortable, or even dangerous, what do people do?
They take their chariot. That means even more vehicles on the streets and with it more traffic and pollution, especially on school streets.
But it’s not until we’re kids that we learn (or don’t) that walking is a great mode of transportation. Regular walking reduces the risk of illness and contributes to a good mood.
petition
In this spirit and deeply motivated by the desire to save lives, Jacinthe Latulippe has been fighting for 5 years to have sidewalks built near the school where her little Anaïs was fatally beaten.
With Piétons Québec and Accès Transports Viables she just started the petition “For the right of children to walk safely”.
We call on Quebec to take responsibility for securing school routes. As well as adding sidewalks on national roads near schools, installing photo radar would help enforce a 30 km/h limit.
Ensuring pedestrian safety should not depend on the goodwill of local authorities or their financial capabilities. It is up to the Quebec government to assume this responsibility.
Choose our priorities
In Saint-Flavien, where little Anaïs died, building sidewalks near the school would cost $1.2 million. The community says they have no money.
Quebec would certainly have them in its $28.3 billion road investment budget. But he doesn’t make that choice.
Yet millions are being spent building roads for mining and forestry, without asking too many questions.
It seems to me that protecting life is worth more than all that. I say this in light of all these tragedies that could be avoided and also the quality of life that we would all benefit from.
Because yes, we are all pedestrians.
