The city will be looking for ways to make school zones and park zones safer for local children. The idea of park safety was brought to council on Monday night by a local resident concerned about Avondale Park at 113 Avenue and 102 Street.
City Councillor Dylan Bressey says he has heard many concerns over the years about that particular park.
“It’s one of the busiest playgrounds in the city. It’s also an unfenced playground and it’s one that’s in proximity to a couple of high schools so you have a lot of new drivers driving through…I think it could use some extra signage and some extra precautions to make sure people are aware that it exists.”
Bressey thinks the city should take this opportunity to look at other parks in the area as well as school zones to see what safety measures could be added.
“I think that across our city we could do a better job of making the presence of both our playgrounds zones and school zones more known. It’s a concern that people share with me that they don’t feel safe having their kids in the playground and school zones unsupervised because they feel like traffic is going to fast through some of them.”
Bressy says it’s important to look into this issue now with school starting up again on September 4. He would also like to remind drivers to be aware of their surroundings especially in areas where children spend most of their time.
“Schools coming up and were used to driving fast through these playground zones and school zones because we didn’t necessarily have to slow down but it’s really important that people are aware that kids are going to be back on the roads again real soon.”
Bressey expects the issue to be brought before committee within the next couple of months.