BOYLE – Village of Boyle councillors have decided to err on the side of caution after a concerned resident said they had seen some dangerous behaviour from drivers in and around the Boyle School parking lot.
During their July 19 meeting, councillors voted 5-0 to place two stop signs at key access points for the school; one will go at the main entrance of the parking lot, and the other will go where the service road that connects the school to the Boyle Healthcare Centre intersects with Hospital Avenue.
The topic had initially been brought forward at the July 5 meeting, but councillors deferred it to get advice from public works officials, as well as have a bit more time to familiarize themselves with the road in question.
“As it is right now, we’re depending on the kids to be smart enough, and maybe we could be putting this more on the adults instead,” said Coun. Barb Smith, who was staunchly in favour of the proposal from the start. “I think stop signs would be perfect, and I think we should also look into a crosswalk.”
Legally speaking, putting a stop sign in place won’t change anything, as motorists are already required to come to a complete stop when leaving a parking lot, but councillors hope that having a visual reminder will encourage better driving habits.
“Is there ever going to be a disadvantage to putting signs there?” asked mayor Colin Derko during the initial discussions. “My only concern is that when you put up a stop sign, people might think that it’s a trap for the police to hand out tickets.”
Look both ways
Once it was decided that stop signs were the appropriate solution, the conversation shifted to the potential for a crosswalk; while one side of the road doesn’t have a sidewalk, Derko thought that putting some paint on the road would go a long way towards reminding drivers to be cautious.
“I had a look right after our first meeting, and even more so than putting a stop sign there, I think painting in a crosswalk would do even more just using a sign,” said Derko during the July 19 meeting.
“It’s something I want to try and think of; I walked that road for 12 years going to school, and I just walked where the traffic went because that’s what you did. Now it’s almost more of a how do you mark that kind of thing.”
Coun. Shelby Kiteley agreed, highlighting the sometimes chaotic process of trying to get kids to cross a road in an orderly manner.
“If the kids know where to cross, they aren’t just running across all willy-nilly wherever they want,” said Kiteley. “My kids just, wherever they decide that’s where they’re going to cross the road, so if there’s a crossing there, maybe it would help.”
