A report funded partially by the District Education Council indicates what many Moncton residents have been preaching for years: 70 km/h in a school zone is too fast.
The study was done by Mike Reade, a former traffic reconstructionist with the RCMP. He recommended the current posted speed limit of 70 km/h be immediately reduced to 60 and eventually 50 in the school zone.
“I am confident it's going to happen,” says Angela Lawson, vice-chair of the Anglophone East Dec. “We've provided them with the proof, and student safety is at risk. I'm not quite sure how it can be ignored any longer.”
Bernice Richard believes some motorists are putting children's lives at risk by driving too fast.
“A child's not going to have a chance on the shoulder like that,” Richard says. “They go way too fast and cut each other off.”
Transportation Minister Bill Fraser wasn't available for comment on Tuesday, but his department tells CTV News, “The Department of Transportation and Infrastructure recently received a copy of the report in question and our engineering staff is currently taking the time to review the findings.”
Parents and members of the district education council have been asking the province to reduce speeds near the school for years.
The province did their own study in 2007. It suggested it wouldn't be safe to lower the speed limit on that section of highway. Mike Reade used the same parameters the province did at that time, but his findings are much different.
Reade's report made other recommendations, like changing the school's parking areas, adding a flashing radar sign showing a driver's speed and a white flashing light on school buses entering or leaving the school grounds.
Parents and the District Education Council now have to wait and see if the province reconsiders.
With files from CTV Atlantic’s Jonathan MacInnis.
