School zone safety a priority for Community Safety Officers

With the start of a new school year quickly approaching, City of North Battleford Community Safety Officers (CSOs) are stepping up patrols in school zones to watch for drivers who put students at risk.                       

Posted speed limits in school zones are reduced to 30 kilometers per hour, with reminder signage posted in each school zone, notes the City’s Director of Protective Services, Chief Lindsay Holm. “We have been targeting speeding in the last number of weeks because there are concerning incidents of high speed in 50 kilometer/hour zones,” commented Chief Holm.

“With students heading back to schools in the city, our Community Safety Officers are going to be heavily patrolling school zone areas to ensure road speeds are kept in check, and to enforce other traffic safety violations like the use of handheld devices and driver compliance with stop signs. Our Fire Department will also be out in school zones with messaging to remind drivers to slow down.”           

To provide perspective, Community Safety Officers have released details to help understand the dangers of speeding in school zones. North Battleford Comprehensive High School’s school zone is 500 meters in length and when travelling at the posted 30 km/h speed limit, it should take the driver 60 seconds to pass through this zone. While speeding at 50 km/h through the same zone, it would take the driver only 36 seconds to pass through the zone. This variance highlights the decreased reaction time for motorists when pedestrians ought to be present in school zones.

Transport Canada data indicates that when roads are icy or wet, a driver requires an extra five meters to stop when travelling at 30 km/h. When traveling at 50 km/h, the same driver would need 10 extra meters to stop. Transport Canada also notes that on average, 30 child pedestrians 14 years of age or younger are killed and more than 2400 are injured each year.      

The City of North Battleford and CSOs thanks community members for their assistance and vigilance in school zone areas. If any unsafe behaviour is observed, the public is encouraged to make a formal complaint to either CSO personnel at 306-445-1775 or the Battlefords RCMP at 306-446-1720.
             

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For more information:
Candace Toma, Public & Intergovernmental Relations Coordinator
306-441-0713 | publicrelations@cityofnb.ca