A crossing guard who was on her first day of work was hit by the driver of a vehicle Tuesday afternoon in Montreal, hours after a march was held by parents and children denouncing the dangers represented by travel vehicles in school corridors.
The crash happened around 4 p.m. Tuesday. At the Service de police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM), spokesperson Raphaël Bergeron says that the crossing guard was hit by a motorist while she was traveling westbound on rue Prieur and made a right turn, north, on avenue Papineau, in the borough of Ahuntsic-Cartierville.
“The sergeant was returning to her street corner, after having probably made people cross. She was facing her green light, just like the motorist. This is where there would have been a collision. The driver stopped and contacted 911,” explained Mr. Bergeron, who added that no criminal offense was committed.
Transported to the hospital, the brigadier suffered minor injuries that are not life-threatening.
Murielle St-Jean, a resident of Ahuntsic who walks there morning and evening with her grandchildren to get to La Visitation elementary school, had just greeted the crossing guard and exchanged a smile with her a few moments before the collision.
PHOTO PATRICK SANFAÇON, THE PRESS
Murielle St-Jean, resident of Ahuntsic
“When I came back with the children, the crossing guard was lying on a stretcher and they were putting her in the ambulance. My 7 year old granddaughter was shocked to see this. She had a stomach ache afterwards. »
Mme St-Jean says he “never” feels safe with his grandchildren when they cross Papineau Avenue.
The SPVM police officers say that it is not a dangerous place because there have been no deaths of children… What are we waiting for, exactly?
Murielle St-Jean, who crosses the intersection every day with her grandchildren
Mme St-Jean notes that there is no physical development aimed at reducing the speed of motorists on Avenue Papineau, a road axis of six lanes entirely reserved for motorized transport. Many motorists run a red light in the morning, she said.
“All we hear is fluidity, fluidity, fluidity… The safety of children who go to school every day is not taken into account. They are seen as obstacles, as nuisances on the road network. We are there. »
During the passage of The PressWednesday afternoon, more than a dozen motorists made a left turn on Papineau Avenue, a maneuver prohibited at this time of day, because it cuts off the way to the many children returning from school. and increases the danger when traveling.
PHOTO PATRICK SANFAÇON, THE PRESS
Turning left on Avenue Papineau is prohibited at certain times of the day.
Jean Lapointe, a crossing guard who for two years ensured the safety of children at this intersection, said he was almost hit by a car on two occasions during this period.
“It’s very dangerous here. I’ve asked the borough several times to put speed bumps on rue Prieur, but they don’t. There was a lighted sign reminding people that it’s 30 km/h, but it broke and the borough took it down. »
The intersection where the collision occurred has two alternating lanes on Prieur Street and six alternating lanes on Papineau Avenue. A bike path was built over the past year on rue Prieur, in both directions.
Montreal will use several tools
In the office of the Mayor of Montreal, Valérie Plante, it is stated that the City intends to use several tools to fight against the proliferation of violent collisions in the road network and to improve the working conditions of crossing guards: additional recruitment, redesigned streets, awareness populations, repeated messages of vigilance at the wheel.
We are aware that we need more crossing guards on our streets. […] In the end, we believe above all in the multiplication of measures. In an ideal world, we would not need crossing guards, because we would have streets designed to ensure the safety of the most vulnerable on the road.
Marikym Gaudreault, press officer for Mayor Plante’s office
Asked about the shortage of crossing guards, the head of mobility on the executive committee of the City of Montreal, Sophie Mauzerolle, had opened the door at the beginning of the week to new measures. “In recent years, we have already increased the budgets for school crossing guards, which was a first for many years. But if there are additional resources to give, we will,” she said.
According to Mme Mauzerolle, the City is currently “thinking” about the possibility of mobilizing other actors around school corridors, in particular the Sustainable Mobility Agency, whose role has been called upon to grow for a few months already. “All options are on the table and we will look at that in the coming weeks,” insisted the manager, referring to “other announcements to come” on this subject in the coming weeks.
PHOTO PATRICK SANFAÇON, THE PRESS
The intersection of avenue Papineau and rue Prieur
The SPVM, for its part, specifies that a recruitment campaign is underway to find brigadiers. “At present, the vast majority of full-time positions are filled and supernumerary positions remain vacant. As in many other sectors of the economy, the labor shortage is making itself felt. Not to mention that the job of brigadier comes with an atypical schedule, ”says the police department.
A few hours earlier, on Tuesday, dozens of parents and children from Ville-Marie had participated in a march in the area to demand improvements that would reduce the dangers posed by motorized vehicles circulating in school corridors.
Murielle St-Jean, a resident of Ahuntsic, believes that it is the “car culture” that everyone must reassess.
“We have everything in Ahuntsic: the train, the metro, the buses, the Communautos, the BIXIs at every street corner… However, even for short trips, to go to the neighborhood school, people take their car. The message it sends to children is that it’s the car or nothing. »
39
Number of pedestrians killed in Quebec in the first nine months of 2022, up 15% from the previous year
140
Number of pedestrians seriously injured in Quebec in the first nine months of 2022, up 27% from the previous year
1289
Number of pedestrians slightly injured in Quebec in the first nine months of 2022, up 16% from the previous year
543
The island of Montreal has 543 crossings with a crossing guard. In the absence of a crossing guard, if he cannot be replaced by a supernumerary colleague, a police officer or a cadet takes over.
Sources: SAAQ and City of Montreal
Other collisions in the Montreal area
January 5, 2023
A 76-year-old man was killed in the parking lot of a Laval grocery store by a motorist who was trying to park his vehicle. The same day in the evening, another pedestrian was seriously injured in a collision in downtown Montreal. The motorist flees.
December 30, 2022
A 30-year-old is in critical condition after being hit by a driver in the evening in the borough of Villeray, in Montreal.
December 20, 2022
An 85-year-old pedestrian lost her life after being hit by a motorist in Laval, in the Boulevard des Laurentides area.
December 13, 2022
Little Mariia Legenkovska, 7 years old and recently arrived from Ukraine, is broke near her elementary school, in the borough of Ville-Marie, in Montreal. She succumbed to her injuries in the early evening. His death shocks Quebec and brings road safety issues for pedestrians back to the fore.
December 6, 2022
A woman was hit by a motorist on Cartier Boulevard in Laval. She will succumb to her injuries. The same day, still in Laval, a sexagenarian was hit by a vehicle on the boulevard des Laurentides. His death was pronounced on the spot.
December 5, 2022
A 36-year-old woman dies after being hit by a heavy weight in L’Île-des-Sœurs, in Montreal.
With the collaboration of Isabelle Ducas and Lila Dussault, The Press