On Nov. 16, I made the mistake of leaving St. Albert from my Oakmont home via Erin Ridge and Everitt Drive thinking I could fuel up before heading north of the city.
I just happened to leave at 8:45 a.m. just when the Lois E. Hole Elementary School was in the middle of drop-off time for the students.
As I slowly made my way past the school and the multiple pinch point designs, I watched in dismay (horror) at the young crossing guards that were standing at the tip of the peninsulas created to (I assume) slow traffic down.
As I approached the main crossing, a STAT bus and a vehicle ahead of me had to pass through the peninsulas and I noticed that the crossing guard did not back up even one step and I would estimate that the bus missed the guard by less than a couple feet. Too close for comfort!
Does this city really believe that this is a good design? Even the push buttons to start the crossing signals are at the tip of the peninsulas! This entire design is full of safety issues that were obviously not thought through by the city “engineers”.
This also says nothing to the design that put an elementary school on a main road that feeds all the big box stores and then creates the need for traffic measures. There is a need for smarter people doing the designs than currently exist on the city’s payroll!
Don Yahn, St. Albert
