25 schools across Quebec participate in demonstrations demanding school zone safety
Posted January 24, 2023 10:18 am.
Last Updated January 24, 2023 6:20 pm.
Not one more death: this is what a collective of different citizen committees across Quebec are calling for, after a young Ukrainian girl was killed in a hit-and-run walking to school in Montreal’s Ville-Marie back in December.
Parents, students and safety advocates were marching and demonstrating Tuesday in front of more than 25 schools across the province.
#WATCH: A province-wide protest took place during morning rush hour on Tuesday across Quebec. Parents, students, and teachers: all demanding safety in school zones. In Ville-Marie, dozens marched to and from local schools.
READ: https://t.co/rjcX8g972I pic.twitter.com/tKpu2UG6DP
— Alyssia (@rubertuccinews) January 24, 2023
Dozens turned out to the school seven-year-old Mariia Legenkovska was walking to on Dec. 13 before she was fatally struck.
RELATED: Funeral for Ukrainian girl killed in hit-and-run held in Montreal
(CREDIT: Alyssia Rubertucci/CityNews)
“There have been some tragedies lately, and it’s brought to our attention to the fact that really we’re not paying enough attention to the safety of people who are getting around by foot,” said parent, Carole-Anne Gascon, at the protest with her son, Arnaud. “They’re on their way to school and they need to be safe.”
For Gascon, letting her 10-year-old walk to school alone is still out of the question.
“Even if he’s be old enough now to be gaining some independence, it’s about being nervous about the road conditions right now,” she said.
Arnaud’s message: “Students should be safe when they go to school.”
On Tuesday, the protesters marched to nearby schools before the first bell in the morning.
(CREDIT: Alyssia Rubertucci/CityNews)
“I would like the cars to respect the rules better so that we can be better off,” said Lou, in sixth grade.
“We need to safeguard their right to get to school in safety and stop focusing so much on the rights of drivers and cars and make sure that we’re focusing on human life,” said Gascon.
Gascon says the intersection by her son’s school, Sherbrooke and De Lorimier, is heavily trafficked and she feels unsafe.
“It’s such a dangerous intersection that we’ve even been told by a policeman directing traffic that it’s not a question of if a tragedy will happen or an accident will happen, it’s a question of when,” she said.
Banging pots and ringing bells is how protesters sounded the alarm on the urgency of the situation. LaPresse reports the SPVM found during the first nine months of 2022, 39 pedestrians seriously injured in road accidents, an increase of 56 per cent compared to the same period in 2021.
“We see every day with the radar that all the cars go really fast,” said parent of two, Gaels Martinez. “And with the case of Mariia, we already see it’s very dangerous so we’re here to support.”
Pedestrians in the Ville-Marie area say even despite added measures after Mariia’s death, it isn’t enough and advocates are demanding more concrete measures when it comes to safety to protect youth as they walk to school.
The city recently announced that they’re working to secure at least 50 schools and daycare zones this year.
“Definitely glad we’re seeing momentum across the province after the unfortunate event last December in our world,” said François Desaulniers of the citizen-led group, CAP Sainte-Marie. “It’s leading to a great momentum on changing things around our schools.”
