A group of concerned parents is calling on Vancouver City Council to reduce the speed limit on a portion of Commercial Drive that is home to two schools.
In a change.org petition, the group says the city should create a school zone with a 30 km/h speed limit at 3000 Commercial Drive. The area is comprised of roughly three blocks and is home to two schools: Stratford Hall (kindergarten to grade 12) and CEFA Early Learning (children aged 1-5). Clark Park is also located in the area, which contains a playground.
And while the speed limit is 50 km/h in the area, the petition states that this is "rarely enforced" and that "there are essentially no traffic calming measures in place."
Parents say they've noticed cars speeding down this stretch of Commercial Drive, which makes it unsafe for children. "We feel it is inevitable that there will be an incident between a child and a speeding car at this location, and we ask you to intervene before this happens."
At the time of this writing, 1,701 people have signed the petition.
BCAA survey shows heightened fears around back to school
A recent BCAA Survey conducted by Insights West finds that the lion's share of British Columbians (60%) expect that school zones will be "more chaotic" as drivers adjust to new pick-up and drop-off routines this year. Additionally, nearly half (48%) feel distracted driving will make school zones more dangerous.
Survey authors add that parents who work from home may be more distracted behind the wheel, checking email or taking a work call while driving.
The majority of British Columbians were used to seeing poor driving in school schools prior to the pandemic, however.
BCAA states that a whopping 75 per cent of them witnessed speeding, 59 per cent saw aggressive driving, and 68 per cent saw people drive through marked crosswalks without stopping.
Vancouver Is Awesome has asked Vancouver Police for comment.
