Tuesday June 20, 2017, approximately 3:45 pm, a crosswalk a half block from Eastview Middle School was a split second or half step away from a disaster.
Just north of the school zone, a student awaits to cross 40 Ave on the crosswalk. North bound city bus stops in the right hand lane. Oncoming southbound traffic stops and the student steps out and just as he gets to the second lane a truck goes roaring by in the passing lane. The student half ran and half flew back to the curb.
More vehicles flew by, the bus driver beeped his horn to warn the student, the driver leaned out the window and tried to slow traffic but only after several vehicles roared by before a vehicle stopped to let the young boy cross the road in a designated crosswalk.
The city has often times had a vehicle there doing the dreaded photo radar stint, and I can see why. These vehicles were doing more than 50 kmh just meters into the 50kmh zone in a crosswalk with children waiting to cross. It would be no contest who would lose between a small child trying to get home and a speeding truck or car.
What can the child do differently? Sprout wings? What can the drivers do? Slow down and think about your surroundings. A crosswalk, traffic is stopped, school zone, and pedestrians on the sidewalk may suggest something,
.Perhaps it is time to install lights at the crosswalk? Could we extend the 30 kmh zone past the crosswalk?
The problem is us, the drivers, we need to focus on our driving, not the clock or the destination, but on our driving. That child wanted to get home, perhaps he was hungry, had to use the facilities or even wanted to play a game or watch television, but he did not have tonnes of steel protecting him, or hundreds of horses helping him hurry. The drivers had the advantage and they used it.
The irony is that some of those drivers were parents picking up their children, worrying about their children’s safety. Probably rushing home to make dinner, before playing ball, or watching their favourite show. Being the danger that they try to protect their children from.
I do not think that the drivers were even aware of how close they came to injuring or killing a child. They probably just thought bus was stopped at a bus stop, the cars were stopped to drop off or pick up children.
If we can’t fix the drivers, can we install lights or do we need a footbridge to protect our children?
I do know that I will be glad to see that photo radar vehicle just north of Eastview Middle School next time.