At the corner of Bay and Chambers streets you can find a tiger and a zebra, or at least a couple telephone poles painted like them.
The pole painting happened on Monday in an effort to bring attention to a crosswalk used by George Jay elementary students who parents say are being ignored by drivers.
B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檙e really concerned about safety, when weB次元官网网址檙e bringing and walking our kids to school at that crosswalk cars arenB次元官网网址檛 stopping,B次元官网网址� said Valeria Cort茅s, a member of the schoolB次元官网网址檚 Parent Advisory Council. B次元官网网址淐ars are speeding and the visibility is very bad; you have to stop midway through the road to see anything.B次元官网网址�
The school is situated near the busy intersection of Bay and Cook streets, which is part of a busy route leading to Royal Jubilee Hospital. During heavy traffic hours, a red light can cause a bumper-to-bumper lineup on Bay Street, which prevents students from being able to safely cross.
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The PAC has tried for years to bring attention to the crosswalk and is pushing to have a pedestrian-activated light installed there, but at this point, Cort茅s said, they are low on the City of VictoriaB次元官网网址檚 list.
B次元官网网址淭hey do about five crosswalks per year, and I think weB次元官网网址檙e placed somewhere between 15-18 on the list,B次元官网网址� she said. B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檝e had a few close calls in that crosswalk; itB次元官网网址檚 awful.B次元官网网址�
In correspondence last year between Cortes, Victoria Police Chief Del Manak and Brad Dellebuur, the CityB次元官网网址檚 manager of transportation, engineering and public works, the crosswalk was discussed but no plan was made.
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B次元官网网址淪taff have reviewed the crosswalk since meeting with the group,B次元官网网址� Dellebuur wrote in an email to Manak and Cort茅s in September 2017. B次元官网网址淎n upgrade to install flashing beacons is supported, however, based on the Council-approved evaluation and ranking system for crosswalks, the intersection is not in the 2018-2020 list of planned crosswalk upgrades/new installations.B次元官网网址�
A near miss in June 2018 with a student and a car near the school revived many parentsB次元官网网址� concerns about safety and speed.
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B次元官网网址淚t was caused by a child not looking both ways. He was not necessarily used to cars,B次元官网网址� said pole-painting artist Beth Threlfall, who was hired by the school to do the jungle-themed paint job. She noted the child was new to the country, as a refugee, and wasnB次元官网网址檛 aware of standard street-crossing protocol.
B次元官网网址淚t was bit of a fright, and how it went rippled through the rest of the school. It was a good reminder to talk about safety, and remember that where the school is situated is a very busy area of town.B次元官网网址�
In recent years changes have been made to mitigate the problems; in 2014 the City installed a sidewalk extension at the crosswalk B次元官网网址� an extra bump-out that made the crosswalk shorter. In 2015 the section of Cook Street that passes the school was lowered from a 40 km/hour speed zone to a 30 km/hour school zone.
Still, parents and staff remain concerned and continue to push for more safety improvements.
On Tuesday morning, Threlfall waited to use her freshly-ornamented crosswalk, only to see four cars zoom past her before she flagged that she wanted to cross.
B次元官网网址淚 donB次元官网网址檛 know if painting the poles will make any difference,B次元官网网址� she said. B次元官网网址淏ut maybe it will strike up more conversation for everything else.B次元官网网址�
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