Elmwood Drive speed limit lowered near Moncton High School

The speed limit on a section of Elmwood Drive, near Moncton High School, has been lowered as a safety measure for students who walk on the side of the twisty, tree-lined road.

The school was built about 2.5 kilometres from the closest convenience store and coffee shop and students sometimes make the trek along the busy road to grab lunch.

That section of Elwood Drive has wide, paved shoulders, but no sidewalks.

"I find the traffic is quite speedy and heavy at times," said Pauline Robichaud, who travels the route daily to go to work.

"It's scary."

Robichaud said it was worse last winter when snow pushed the students closer to the traffic, and during exam time when groups of six or more students would walk shoulder-to-shoulder.

Mike Belong, the school's principal, says he has received some comments from parents and the public about the students placing themselves in danger. He says drivers need to be responsible, but ultimately, it's a decision the students have to make for themselves.

"Motorists sometimes do things, and we know it's against the law, but they could be texting … so we tell [the students], `Your best interest is to stay here. We're responsible for your care while you're here,'" he said.

"But we can't really keep them all on school grounds."

We can't really keep them all on school grounds.- Mike Belong, MHS principal

On Oct. 20, the city lowered the speed limit in the area to 60 km/h from 80 km/h.

Alcide Richard of the city engineering department hints more changes might be coming.

"I know that the people who were in contact with us were probably looking for a little bit more even, but understood that this was a first step, if you want to look at it that way," he said.

Adam Botta, a Moncton High student, said he thinks the solution is simple.

"I'd like to see some sidewalks coming along and all that, to make it safer for ourselves," he said.

Richard said there are plans to build sidewalks from the convenience store past Moncton High. The project is set to start in 2017 and take two years to complete.