Police remind drivers to use care as students set to school

By Lethbridge Herald on September 1, 2023.

Members of the Lethbridge Police Service Traffic Response Unit will be making sure motorists drive with caution as students return to class starting on Tuesday. Herald photo by Alejandra Pulido-Guzman

Alejandra Pulido-Guzman – LETHBRIDGE HERALD – apulido@lethbridgeherald.com

With schools back in session Tuesday, Lethbridge Police Service wants to remind motorists to be cautious of the increased pedestrian traffic in and around schools to keep everyone safe. 

Sergeant in charge of the Lethbridge Police Service Traffic Response Unit, Danny Lomness spoke to reporters Friday morning and said LPS wanted to remind residents to stay vigilant and slow down around schools now that students are heading back Tuesday. 

“We want to make sure all the motorists are aware of increased pedestrian traffic in and around the school and playground zones again with school coming back in a couple days,” said Lomness. 

He said LPS wants to make sure drivers are paying extra attention around schools because many young children are slowly getting back into their routine and might not be as vigilant towards vehicles. 

“I just want to make sure they are paying attention, taking their time, planning ahead, because a lot of the students aren’t back into those routines of being aware of the vehicle traffic and their surroundings, so they can get back into following all the rules, paying attention to crosswalks and a higher flow of traffic,” said Lomness. 

He said something else motorists need to keep in mind is the consolidation of school and playground zones coming into effect Tuesday and to be aware that the after-school speed limit remains at 30 kilometres per hour  until 9 p.m. daily.

All school zones have been converted to year-round playground zones with a 30 km/h speed limit in effect from 7:30 a.m. until 9 p.m. daily.

“That was mainly done to ensure that not only during school time the people using the school, mainly kids, vehicles are driving a little slower creating a safer space for them, but all the after-school events like soccer, and kids playing in the playgrounds later at night,” said Lomness. 

He said for those who do not follow the speed limit, fines can range from around $100 for going over the playground speed limit by 10 kilometres per hour, and continues to increase the faster the speed above the limit. 

“In a lot of cases we’re dealing with younger kids that don’t really understand the ramifications of speeding vehicles and what can happen, and some of their movements are they’re not being cautious, they’re not really thinking before they do it and we want the motorists, the adults for the most part, to be much more responsible by slowing down,” said Lomness. 

He said by slowing down if a child was to suddenly cross the street, it gives time to the motorist to react. 

“For students to be safe, use sidewalks where they are, use crosswalks or marked crosswalks when you can, don’t jaywalk especially in high density areas where there is lots of traffic, as there’s lots of blind spots for motorists,” said Lomness. 

He cautions pedestrians, whether be students or anyone else, to be vigilant while crossing the road. 

“If you are crossing the road, make sure you make eye contact with the motorists and they see you, if you want to use your hand signals that’s also a great option, and obviously if there’s other traffic control devices like crossing lights, always a great option,” said Lomness. 

He said motorists are reminded not to park on or obstruct a crosswalk and not to double park or park in alleys during student drop-off or pick-up. It’s also important for drivers to watch out for school buses, especially when children are boarding or disembarking. 

In the City of Lethbridge there is a bylaw prohibiting school buses from using their stop lights and stop arms, but drivers are still urged to use caution when navigating around buses that are stopped.