Affected residents are calling for more measures to slow down drivers in Armstrong after a mother said her son was cut off on the zebra crossing near Armstrong Elementary School.
Holly Dalgleish turned on social media late last month to urge neighbors to speak up and write some advice.
“Someone in a black car raced through the zebra crossing and fastened his backpack with the side mirror,” said Dalgleish in her post, in which she warned parents.
Now a local resident across the city is looking for more traffic calming strategies across the city.
“Given the near-tragedy at one of our local zebra crossings where a child was circumcised by a negligent driver in a school zone, it is up to the city to take action,” wrote Melanie Law Oke in a letter to the council.
“This community is growing fast and incidents like this are only the beginning of what’s to come.”
Oke said she observed traffic “near freeway speed” past her home on Pleasant Valley Road at all times, and reported these incidents to RCMP and the city “without improvement”.
“We are sick of this recent incident near home,” the letter said. “Our child was almost hit on the pedestrian-activated zebra crossing … Even as an adult, I had near misses on local zebra crossings on both PVR and Rosedale.”
Signage and RCMP presence are not enough to slow down speeding. Instead, according to Oke, speed limits and photo radar should be considered.
Oke also points out the need to have more sidewalks across the community, especially on busy streets like Rosedale.
“Pedestrians, especially children, should never have to walk on the street …” said Oke.
READ MORE: Armstrong boy ‘cut off’ on zebra crossing: mother
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@caitleerach
Caitlin.clow@vernonmorningstar.com
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