Sidewalks and the safety of school children were a major topic at Tuesday’s Talktober in the Hart.
Cayley Quinn’s kids go to Hart Highlands Elementary. She’s worried about them walking on busy roads or along the ditches.
“Not just with my local school but with several schools in the Hart Highlands area. They don’t have sidewalks. Kids are walking every day to try to get to the school and back. It’s just unsafe.”
Public Works General Manager Dave Dyer is looking into it. To install raised sidewalks and curb, there also needs to be a drainage system put in place, otherwise rain and snow would flood the streets. All that installing is, unfortunately, expensive, so Dyer says the city looks for other options.
“Widening the road is generally what we try to do so that there’s more room for pedestrians to walk on the edge of the road or cyclists to travel along the side.”
Other safety issues brought up included crosswalks and lighting. Quinn notes some of the busiest and most dangerous areas are Highland Drive near the Hart Highland Elementary and Austin Rd. at Dawson Rd. Now that it’s been addressed, Dyer says the city can monitor when and where people are trying to cross the road and seek the best location for a crosswalk.
Lighting along Highway 97 is a Provincial project, not a local one, but the city can talk with the Ministry of Transportation to help the process. Dyer says the city is “getting close to being able to put those lights in” along Foothills Boulevard. The city has been working with BC Hydro about installing lights on already installed hydro poles, which he hopes to have installed this winter.
Blackburn will host the next Talktober on Thursday at the Blackburn Community Hall at 6:30 PM.