Back to school: Student safety is CDN-NDG's priority

MONTRÉAL, Sept. 4, 2019 /CNW Telbec/ - The borough of Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce (CDN-NDG) is proud to announce that it has been granted $1,385,516 from the Ministère des Transports du Québec for traffic calming measures to increase safety near schools.

The funding comes from the Ministère des Transports' Programme d'aide financière au développement du transport actif dans les périmètres urbains 2018-2019. This investment will secure eleven intersections at seven schools. This year, work will be carried out on five intersections at four schools: Bedford, Saint-Raymond, Les Enfants-du-Monde and Simonne-Monet. In 2020, work will be done at the six remaining intersections and at École des Nations, École Petit Chapiteau and Beth Rivkah Academy. These improvements are in addition to a multitude of new traffic calming measures across the borough of CDN-NDG to enhance safety around school zones.

Making the areas around schools safe is essential to maintaining a high quality of life for residents and families. With the start of the new school year, children, teenagers and young adults have once again started walking to school along the borough's sidewalks. With almost a hundred elementary and secondary schools, CEGEPs, and universities within its boundaries, the borough administration takes safety very seriously—in particular, the wellbeing of the thousands of students who circulate throughout the borough on a daily basis.

Some of the measures implemented to facilitate moving about on foot include:

• the addition of 300 five-metre clearance markings at intersections;
• the construction of curb extensions at 24 intersections;
• the improvement of stop lines and priority road markings such as pictograms and those for pedestrian crossings and school areas
• a faster completion of markings;
• the creation of 9 anti-dooring buffer zones, in addition to the 150 bike lanes demarcated to separate them from vehicular traffic.

As active transport is becoming more and more popular, making it safe must be a priority, in particular through traffic calming measures in school zones and encouraging responsible behaviour.

"Today, I'm pleased to highlight our efforts to guarantee children safe and pleasant school zones. We all hope that families will choose active transport to get to school. Walking and cycling help counter the negative health effects of a sedentary lifestyle and contribute to a healthier environment," says Borough Mayor Sue Montgomery.

In 2018, the borough reduced the speed limit to 30 km/h for all streets in residential neighbourhoods and to 40 km/h for most of the larger arteries. Over 70 additional speed bumps and 35 radar displays have been added.

"Student safety is a priority. We appreciate Mayor Montgomery's support and collaboration on road safety around our school. Her attention to our needs has led to improvements of the course of the last year. We have full confidence that there will be more road safety projects completed in the short and long term," added Royal Vale School principal Nathalie Lacroix-Maillette.

"I'm proud that CDN-NDG is part of Vision Zero, the aim of which is to eliminate all fatalities and serious injuries within Montréal's road network. We are investing in the safety of all residents, because one death on Montréal's roads is one death too many."

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SOURCE Ville de Montréal - Arrondissement de Côte-des-Neiges - Notre-Dame-de-Grâce

Source: Borough of Côte-des-Neiges-Notre-Dame-de-Grâce; Information: 514 872-4863