More safety measures needed around schools, Ensemble Montréal says

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The number of school crossing guards must be increased, says the Official Opposition at City Hall, and selection criteria addressing which schools have access to traffic calming measures must be reviewed to ensure the safety of children who attend schools on busier and more dangerous arterial streets.

Currently, traffic calming and safety measures favour schools on or near local streets, which are quieter, over schools on arterial streets, said Alba Zúñiga Ramos, Ensemble Montréal spokesperson for active transportation and youth and councillor for Louis-Riel, and Abdelhaq Sari, public safety spokesperson and councillor for the Marie-Clarac district, at a press conference on Tuesday.

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As thousands of Montreal students are set to start classes later this month, the official opposition plans to deposit a motion at the city of Montreal’s Aug. 21 council meeting intended to make Montreal schoolchildren safer as they make their way to and from school.

Many Montreal schools do not have crossing guards, who are hired by the Montreal police department, and, according to the motion, their numbers have not increased in two decades from 521 — despite the fact that schools have been built in the intervening years and that nearly two dozen projects to build primary and secondary schools in Montreal have been authorized by the education department.

The motion cites a 2018 submission by the Commission scolaire de Montréal (now the Centre de services scolaire de Montréal) saying that an increase of 22 per cent in the number of crossing guards was necessary. Some available crossing guard positions remain vacant.

Between 2018 and 2022, 427 pedestrians and cyclists were seriously injured and 101 were killed, says the motion, citing annual reports from the Montreal police department.

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“There is human drama behind the figures,” said Zúñiga Ramos. “What is being done now is not enough.”

The opposition motion cites a 2023 report from Quebec’s association of police chiefs, which found that 71 per cent of drivers exceed the speed limit near schools and parks, and Montreal police statistics to show that excessive speed represents 40 per cent of all infractions seen in school zones.

Schools on streets identified as arterial are often more dangerous than local streets, says the opposition motion: Between 2012 and 2021, for instance, there were 32 incidents involving pedestrians or cyclists around Collège de Montréal, located at the intersection of Sherbooke and Fort Sts., and 30 such incidents at Coronation Elementary School, at the busy intersection of Victoria and Van Horne Aves.

Proximity to arterial streets means greater danger for pedestrians, the opposition motion says — but redesigning these streets is often more expensive than redesigning local ones. Because funding is in large part based on the estimated cost of plans submitted by boroughs, schools located near arterial roads rarely benefit from funding from the School Street Safety Program, implemented in 2018.

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“These schools ought to be prioritized, not disfavoured,” said a communiqué from the opposition.

“For us, this makes no sense whatever,” said Zúñiga Ramos. “It is counterproductive that our schools near arterial streets, which are at greater risk, are overlooked due to the fact that there is not enough money.”

The opposition says the program’s $10 million annual budget is inadequate: According to facts it compiled, 50 per cent of submissions made by boroughs under the School Street Safety Program are refused.

“Our first request for the city is to modify selection criteria to place emphasis on safety, which means schools near arterial streets will not be ignored,” said Zúñiga Ramos. “What we are asking is for the city of Montreal to review its approach so that all schools benefit from traffic calming measures.”

Traffic calming measures include widening sidewalks, pedestrian traffic lights, curb extensions, speed bumps, drop-off areas at school entrances and other redesigns to promote safety.

“We need to secure as many schools as possible and prioritize the most critical intersections,” said Sari. “Currently, some schools are put on the back burner simply due to cost issues. Safety should never be a question of money.”

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The opposition motion cites the fact that at its March 14 meeting, the Comité de parents des écoles de Montréal adopted a list of 12 demands to the city linked to children’s safety around school.

The motion, to be proposed by Zúñiga Ramos and seconded by Sari, also cites the parents’ committee demands for more frequent police presence around schools and for collaboration between the provincial transport ministry, police, the Centre de services scolaire de Montréal and schools to plan for security measures when major roadwork affects traffic around schools.

sschwartz@postmedia.com

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