Parents at a Kitchener elementary school say it’s only a matter of time before traffic on the busy road next to the school causes a serious issue.
Chicopee Hills Public School sits near the intersection of Fairway Road and Lackner Boulevard.
“Nobody seems to care about the lights, they pass when they want to,” school crossing guard Mike Gaston said. “Someone is going to get killed.”
The after school rush is a particularly busy time and has many concerned about safety.
“I’m in the middle of the road,” Gaston said. “A car passed in front of me and passed behind me at the same time – didn’t care to stop.”
Many parents say the situation is not safe.
“It’s only a matter of time before someone gets hit,” said Guy Pink, a parent of three children at the school. “There’s daily problems of kids jumping in the street after balls and several near misses almost daily.”
According to Pink, parents have been asking the school board, Region of Waterloo and City of Kitchener to do anything to fix the problem.
“They’ve been pretty much dragging their feet not doing anything. There’s been a couple proposals. A good start would be a school zone, slow down traffic considerably,” said Pink.
Both the region and the school board say they are aware of the issue.
“We understand the concerns around vehicle and pedestrian traffic in the area and are looking forward to meeting with our partners at an upcoming planning meeting on Oct. 18 to discuss student safety, create a plan, and find solutions moving forward,” Waterloo Region District School Board said in part in an emailed statement.
“The Region is aware and has had discussions with residents and school board members, and will continue to meet to work towards finding solutions,” Kornel Mucsi, manager of transportation planning for the Region of Waterloo said in an email.
According to Pink, there have been enough meetings – it’s time to act.
“People go pretty fast on Fairway Road. The city’s been dragging their feet for over five years about resolving this problem and nothing’s really being done,” Pink said.
The school board and stakeholders plan to meet about the issue on Tuesday.
