Montreal spending $10M to force drivers to slow down near schools

As the start of the school year gets underway, the city of Montreal says it is speeding up the implementation of its $10-million plan to improve road safety around schools.

The money is being used on 30 projects in 11 boroughs, a dozen of which have already been implemented with the rest expected to be completed by the end of the year. 

The work includes widening sidewalks and adding pedestrian lights and speed bumps.

Montreal Mayor Valerie Plante made the announcement Tuesday at a news conference outside Honoré Mercier school in the city's Sud-Ouest borough, alongside members from her executive committee and the Montreal police.

"[Road safety] is not just a priority for our administration, it's a priority for families, for parents," she said. "There's no reason why a motorist should choose speed over safety." 

All 30 projects around schools were chosen by their respective boroughs, Plante said, adding more than 15,000 additional students will be safer this year on their daily journeys because of the work being done.

You can read the full list of schools involved on the city's website.

71% of drivers speed in school zones

Last week, Quebec's association of police chiefs (ADPQ) said around 37,000 tickets were issued to motorists for non-compliance with road safety in school zones in 2022 and that 71 per cent of drivers exceed the speed limits near parks and schools. 

Quebec's Transport Minister also recently noted 392 people died on Quebec roads last year, including a seven-year-old Ukrainian refugee who was killed in a hit-and-run on her way to school last December. 

"It's unacceptable," said Sophie Mauzerolle, Montreal's executive committee member responsible for transport and mobility, of the numbers. 

To continue to further improve safety in all neighbourhoods of the city, Mauzerolle said, Montreal will be launching consultations starting Oct. 25 with the aim of getting proposals to further improve road safety around schools. 

Montreal's commission on transport and public works, which will lead the consultations, will make recommendations based on the suggestions. 

Police stepping up enforcement

Stéphane Desroches, head of the Montreal police department's road safety division, says the force will also be stepping up its enforcement activities and awareness campaigns around schools until Sept. 22. 

"The safety of the most vulnerable users on the road is at the heart of the SPVM's priorities all year round, but it takes on even more importance when the school year begins," he said. 

The police interventions include:

• Two weekly enforcement operations in accident-prone and school zones.
• An analysis of school corridors and reporting of situations that could compromise the safety of students.
• Online video clips and prevention tips shared on social networks.
• Distribution of awareness tools near schools.
• Awareness-raising posters near school drop-off points and at the main entrance to schools and their daycare services. 

Plante, for her part, says she knows much of the city was designed with cars in mind, but times are changing and a new balance has to be achieved. 

"The public space belongs to everybody … and there's more and more cars everywhere," she said, adding everyone, not only drivers, must follow the rules. 

"For us, because we care about families and kids, our priority is to protect them and I think that everybody will agree with that."