The biggest obstacle, according to Manager of Emergency Programs Adam Davey, was that there is no universal sign for anything related to muster points.
This week, School District No. 57 began installing signs at 18 schools throughout Prince George to indicate their designation as official “Community Evacuation Assembly Points” in the event of an evacuation.
“Originally we searched for a universal standard,” Davey told MyPGNow with regards to the design of the signs. “There actually isn’t one for evacuation points, so we selected the four shoulders with heads and arrows because if you do a Google search, most signage does include that. We hope in time that folks will associate that symbol with an evacuation point.”
Colourwise, Davey, along with the City’s Traffic and Safety Committee and the Emergency Planning Committee, wanted to make use of a look that was different from other street signs. The committees elected to go for red on gold, which is commonly associated with fire rescue.
“It is a pilot,” said Davey. “We’ll look at folks feedback and test and adjust if necessary.”
The following schools are all assembly points:
- Prince George Secondary School
Mayor Lyn Hall, representatives from SD57, as well as Manager of Emergency Programs Adam Davey, pose by the Muster Sign at Van Bien Elementary School. (Ethan Ready, MyPGNow staff) - Glenview Elementary School
- Hart Highlands Elementary School
- Duchess Park Secondary School
- Harwin Elementary School
- Quinson Elementary School
- D.P. Todd Secondary School
- Van Bien Elementary School
- Nusdeh Yoh Elementary School
- College Heights Secondary School
- Polaris Montessori Elementary
- Vanway Elementary School
- Beaverly Elementary School
- Blackburn Elementary School
- Springwood Elementary School
- École Heather Park Elementary School
- École Lac des Bois
- John McInnis Jr. Secondary School
The City worked closely with School District No. 57 to pick the locations of the assembly points, which were selected based on their centrality and traffic flow in each evacuation zone. Schools tend to be commonly known to most residents, which is the main reason behind them being selected as community muster points.
“The City of Prince George and School District No. 57 share a strong partnership in safeguarding the well-being of students within the community during any emergency event,” said Mayor Lyn Hall. “The City is currently in year one of a strategic plan to improve the city’s readiness for all foreseeable emergencies. Strengthening our partnerships with key local agencies such as the School District is critical to our success.”
The schools listed as muster points are indicated on the City emergency evacuation map. The map is based largely upon the current City garbage collection map, due to the fact that residents are already familiar with the coloured zones associated with it.
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