It’s been at least nine months since a petition went around asking provincial Transportation and Infrastructure Minister Bill Fraser to lower the speed limit near Magnetic Hill School.
District Education Council Vice Chair Angela Lawson says they are delighted to be able to announce the speed limit will be lowered to 50 kilometres per hour when students return in January.
“The parents at Magnetic Hill School have worked tirelessly to get us to this point, they’re obviously happy with the results,” says Lawson. “This really shows that the Minister values student safety and was willing to take another look at the issue.”
Lawson expects the effectiveness of the new speed limit will likely be monitored over the first few months of 2018 to ensure it is slowing drivers down.
She says “in addition we know that reducing the speed limit arbitrarily isn’t going to do a whole lot, we need drivers to be aware of what they’re driving and conciously making a choice to slow down,” says Lawson. “So that’s where the flashing signs come in, the flashing radar signs that we see.”
Lawson says another safety challenge was the student drop off, which was originally designed almost solely for buses, but a growth in parents dropping students off caused severe congestion, leading to safety concerns.
To that end, Lawson says by installing concrete barriers, signage, and adding lane markers, they’ve separated the bus and parent drop off.
While the new system does require more teacher supervision, the school has noted improved safety with the bus and drop off traffic moving well with an especially major reduction in cars waiting on the highway to turn in to the drop off.