Quebecers to march for safety in school zones, after Ukrainian-Montrealer killed

A protest will take place during morning rush hour on Tuesday across Quebec, parents, students, and teachers – all demanding safety in school zones.

“It’s not a problem that’s limited to Montreal,” says Carl St-Denis, of CAP Sainte-Marie, a citizen-run committee. “It touches people in Matane, in rural areas as well.”

One is planned in the Sainte-Marie neighbourhood of Montreal – in front of the school a seven-year-old Ukrainian girl was walking to when she was killed in a hit-and-run last month.

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The “Pas une mort de plus “ collective will be protesting in front of the Jean-Baptiste-Meilleur school calling for improved safety measures in school zones.

“We were already carrying these requests before the event and when it happened, it really shook all of us,” St-Denis said. “We no longer want to stand still and just wait for those changes to occur.”

The group will then continue marching to the corner of De Lorimier and Shebrooke streets.

The collective is demanding elected officials take concrete actions to protect youth as they walk to school.

#WATCH: A protest is planned for Tuesday across Quebec. Parents, students, and teachers – all demanding safety in school zones.
One is planned in front of the school a seven-year-old Ukrainian girl was walking to when she was killed.

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Ashling Lynch walks with her 3-year-old in Ville-Marie.

“I just have been saying to him, like a little girl got hurt here and we need to be really careful of cars,” she said.

Since Mariia’s death, the city installed plastic bollards on the street where she was hit and new signs were installed on nearby streets barring traffic during certain hours.

But some say, not much has changed and cars still speed by.

“This is a one way street, you think that like that is a way of calming traffic, but people are constantly cutting down from Sherbrooke,” said pedestrian Corie Waugh.

Citizens living in the neighborhood say motorists use the residential streets as short-cuts to get to the Jacques-Cartier Bridge.

“It was already difficult to begin with and now it’s only exacerbated,” said St-Denis.

(CREDIT: Alyssia Rubertucci/CityNews)

“I don’t feel like us being careful is always the answer,” said Lynch. “The cars have the responsibility.”

Advocates say it’s the city’s responsibility, which has already promised to implement more measures like speed bumps.

“What we’re asking for are measures that are a bit more structuring, namely the revision of streets, street directions,” said St-Denis. “We want more one-ways and we want street configurations that don’t allow through traffic in our residential streets.”

After meeting with the city, some are hopeful for the future, but say the Tuesday protest is to keep the pressure on authorities.

This is not the first protest held by the movement.

“We really want to make sure that they’re on board,” St-Denis said. ” That they understand our preoccupation and that they we want them to intervene and help us appease transit and have safer streets.”