Edmonton drivers alerted after school zone speeding nearly quadruples
CBC News | Posted: February 2, 2015 3:58 PM | Last Updated: February 2, 2015
More than 1,000 vehicles caught speeding in school zones in one day
Edmonton drivers are still not slowing down enough in school zones, according to new numbers from the city that show a record number of speeders.
On Monday, Jan. 26 alone, the city caught 1,065 vehicles speeding in school zones.
That’s close to four times the daily average since enforcement began in November 2014.
“Children touch everybody's lives and you'd think that would be something that would be at the forefront in people's minds,” said Gord Cebryk, the manager of transportation operations.
“People are always in a rush but that's not a justification for not obeying the law and not being cognizant of the fact it does endanger children's lives when we are speeding.”
The city says there are signs, marked crosswalks and sometimes even marked vehicles in school zones alerting drivers to slow down to 30 kilometers an hour.
But many say those measures continue to be ignored.
"It's outrageous, it's unbelievable. Just carelessness," said Krystyna Jette, who often drops her grandchildren off at school.
She lives across from St. Anne Catholic School and regularly sees people ignoring the rules. Jette suggests stronger enforcement may be the solution to speeding drivers.
"They don't get the message. They're not careful."
City council imposed the 30 km/h speed zones around schools with elementary grades in July 2014.
The speed limit was brought in partly because of pressure from the public.