Group wants 30 km/h speed limits, more barriers to cars in school zones when kids head back to class
Winnipeg school board trustee to discuss active transportation route pilot with rest of school board, city
A group of community leaders in Winnipeg are trying to make it safer for students getting to school come September.
The Manitoba government announced last month students will be returning to class in the fall. But parents will have to come up with alternative ways of getting them there, as school buses will not be operating at full capacity in order to prevent the potential spread of the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19.
On Tuesday, Coun. Sherri Rollins, Winnipeg Trails Association executive director Anders Swanson, and Jacob Nikkel, community safety outreach co-ordinator of the West Broadway Community Organization, came together to call on the City of Winnipeg to ensure there is infrastructure in place to allow young students to get to class safely.
"Come September, we know that parents are going to have to rely on their city streets and their urban design more than ever to keep their families safe," said Rollins, who is also chair of the city's standing policy committee on community and protection services.
"There are going to be more children walking to school and riding their bikes to school, and in order to make them a lot safer, we have to plan and act now."
The group wants the city to reduce all residential speed limits to 30 kilometres an hour, and have more barriers blocking off cars in school zones — similar to those installed along active transportation routes throughout the city.
The City of Winnipeg has decided to study reducing speeds on residential streets from 50 km/h — the current speed limit —to 30 or 40 km/h. But ultimately the provincial government would have to amend the Highway Traffic Act before any such changes can take place.
The study also likely won't start until next year.
The rate of children who are walking and cycling to school has dropped steadily since the 1950s, largely because of car-centric road infrastructure, and the pandemic has not improved that pattern, said Swanson, whose group focuses on active transportation infrastructure.
The community can act on the lessons it has learned during the pandemic, he says, whether that's riding a bike on a road that suddenly had fewer traffic, or politicians realizing they are the ones in control of creating safe streets for children.
Nikkel said there are many people who have children but no vehicle, so active transportation is especially important for them.
"What we see, what we know is that without adequate infrastructure and accommodation, these people are often forced into unsafe situations," said Nikkel.
Jennifer Chen, a Winnipeg School Division school board trustee for Ward 6, was also at the gathering on Tuesday. She noted that the school board backed the implementation of 30 km/h zones on residential streets, and sent a letter a city council stating so.
Chen wants to see a pilot project in place where barriers will prevent vehicles from entering streets, so students can bike or walk to school.
Residents living near Wolseley Avenue, where an active transportation route runs from Raglan Road to Maryland Street, are in support of the idea.
"I'm a teacher. I've been home since March 12. I've been walking around the neighbourhood, and since they've closed off Wolseley [Avenue], it's been a lot nicer walking," said Joe Bettencourt, adding that the barricade has not really impacted how he drives through the neighbourhood.
Nicole Russell also lives in the Wolseley area and has two kids who will be turning 11 and 13 this summer. She says she's a "big advocate" for the 30 km/h zone and active transportation route in the area.
"[Wolseley Avenue] has become a commuter thoroughfare, which is really not good because so many people in this community walk," said Russell.
"Everyone in the whole community is using the street more. I feel a lot more comfortable with my kids biking up and down," she said. "My oldest has gotten into skateboarding too, so he'll use a longboard on there and it's just really nice to see more people out and about."
Were schools to receive active transportation routes of their own, Russell would be on board because she can't drive her kids to school.
Chen says she's still discussing the details of the potential pilot with the City of Winnipeg and the Winnipeg School Division board.
The topic of speed limits will be discussed at the next infrastructure committee meeting, the city says.
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With files from Peggy Lam