School Zones to start at 7:30am

[urban.one]

id like to see stats on how many accidents there are near schools and playgrounds for both those with lowered speed zones and those without.

the other thing i hate, is the until 1 hour after sunset zones. how the heck do i know what time the sun set? was it 50 minutues ago or 90 minutes?




Wednesday » November 5 » 2008

Parents applaud plan to start school zones earlier
Lower speed limits would begin at 7:30

Eva Ferguson
Calgary Herald


Wednesday, November 05, 2008


Motorists driving through playground and school zones may have to start slowing down at 7:30 a.m.

Parents and educators are applauding the provincial initiative, saying it will increase safety near schools with earlier starts and reduce confusion among drivers.

"It doesn't make sense to have a playground zone when cars are only slowing down after the bell has rung," says Laura Shutiak, president of the Calgary Association of Parents and School Councils.

"The big issue has always been morning times, and anything that deals with that is helpful."

For schools located in playground zones, drivers only have to reduce their speed between 8:30 a.m. and one hour after sunset. But many schools start classes well before 8:30 a.m.

School zones, which are not located at all schools, add to the confusion, with a variety of start and stop times throughout the day.

Generally school zones are in effect from 8 a.m. to 9:30 a.m., then again from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., and from 3 to 4:30 p.m. Municipalities have the power to alter end times, depending on their needs.

Alberta Transportation Minister Luke Ouelette said in the legislature this week his department is looking to have both playground and school zones start at 7:30 a.m. and end at 5 p.m., with an option for municipalities to change the end time through a bylaw.

Transportation spokeswoman Eileen McDonald said the minister, who was unavailable for comment Tuesday, is putting forward the proposal after concern from the public about lack of safety at schools and driver confusion over school zone start and stop times.

"It's just a matter of being consistent. It would increase the safety and would ease confusion for motorists," she said.

Ald. Ray Jones, chairman of the city's transportation committee, welcomed the earlier starts, but said he would like to see all zones end one hour after sunset.

Particularly in the summer, he said, many playgrounds and parks are brimming with youngsters well after 5 p.m.

Marilyn Dennis, chairwoman of the parent council at Monterey Park School, said an earlier, standard time for both school and playground zones will increase safety.

But she's still concerned about safety at her school, where her children attend grades 3 and 5, because of a small, crowded drop-off zone that includes a city bus stop.

The province will begin public consultations across the province about the time changes for school and playground zones within the next year, providing a forum to raise concerns about traffic safety at schools.

Dennis, who has worked with other parents at the school to solve the problem, hopes to be able to communicate her concerns at that time.

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© The Calgary Herald 2008








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CanWest Interactive, a division of CanWest MediaWorks Publications, Inc.. All rights reserved.

[Melinda]

Seriously? Are there that many kids hit by cars within the block and a half range of a school/playground zone that we need to donate so much time and effort to adjusting a slow down time limit by half an hour?

[Canmorite]

Next up: 24 Playground zones. You never know, kids could be playing any time of the day!

If they want to start at 7:30 am, they can end at 4:00 pm.

[Eleanor]

Ugh, guess I'll have to leave for work earlier now then

[van]

In regards to the 1 hour after sunset playground zone law, if you can't see the sun/lit up sky it's safe to assume the sun has set for whatever amount of time. I'm thinking if the sun was set a cruiser wouldn't be sitting there with a radar to check whether an hour has passed or not. What I hate most are people who tail gate me because they think the sun has already set!

I think it kind of makes sense that the school zone should start before school starts, I mean, have you driven past a school and see how many unattentative children run around without a care in the world (or car for that matter). Like Canmorite said I think 7:30am-4:00pm is a fine time. School is usually out by 3:00pm-3:30pm.

[adam c]

one thing i like about edmonton (and that's not much) they don't have these stupid playgrounds and school zones.. the kids there do fine

[momofan]

really I didn't know Edmonton didn't have school/playground zones. Cool!

Also the other issue is some school have different holiday, how the heck are we suppose to know when they are in school and when they are out.

[adam c]

yea the only time you slow down to 30 is when the cross walk lights are on

[3g4u]

Most people around my neck of the woods slow down for the playground zone before 8:30 am anyway so this really wont affect me.

[TorqueDog]

What ever happened to teaching your kids not to run out into the street like deer on a highway?

[3g4u]

Originally posted by TorqueDog
What ever happened to teaching your kids not to run out into the street like deer on a highway?

That stupid law that all cars need to stop for every jackass jaywalking, stopped common sence in Canada/Calgary.

[Swank]

Originally posted by urban.one
the other thing i hate, is the until 1 hour after sunset zones. how the heck do i know what time the sun set? was it 50 minutues ago or 90 minutes?

Weather forecast on TV and in the newspaper tells you every day, so does the weather network website. It only changes by like 2 minutes a day, so if you check like once a week you should be able to ballpark it the rest of the week. Arming yourself with this knowledge is one of the driver's responsibilities before hopping in the car, just like checking to make sure all your lights work, but few people do it.

[djayz]

Why didn't they think of this way back when.

Anytime I drive through a playground/school zone in the morning which is usually around 8 people speed right through while kids are making their way to school.

Makes sense to have it start at 7:30 and end at 4, just set it and leave it though otherwise it will be confusing for all drivers not just a few. Anytime after 4 it should be the responsibility of the parents or the kids to know where they are and take caution when crossing streets. Don't want to start up anything by saying this but I hate how here they try to push the responsibility of crossing a road safely to a pedestrian in every situation.

[signature7]

Originally posted by Swank


Weather forecast on TV and in the newspaper tells you every day, so does the weather network website. It only changes by like 2 minutes a day, so if you check like once a week you should be able to ballpark it the rest of the week. Arming yourself with this knowledge is one of the driver's responsibilities before hopping in the car, just like checking to make sure all your lights work, but few people do it.

I learnt it on the first day of drivers ed.

[Isaiah]

We just had this discussion 2 months ago.

http://forums.beyond.ca/st/232582/th...-school-zones/

The redundancy of playground and school zones has already been proven by empirical evidence.

These zones are strictly cash cows for the city's coffers; end of story. Of course, all the parents will now respond with the typical, "you obviously don't have kids" bullshit which I preempt by questioning your parenting skills if you fear your child being hit by a rogue vehicle on their way to school.

[theken]

I love seeing driver confusion as an argument. Lol if you get confused that easily when I sign tells you 30 km at 730 then you slow down.
If this is hard I suggest giving a good hard look at your life and then think about ending it cause you are a retard

[kenny]

Originally posted by djayz
Don't want to start up anything by saying this but I hate how here they try to push the responsibility of crossing a road safely to a pedestrian in every situation.

If anything its the opposite. The responsibility of a pedestrian crossing the road safely seems to be everyones responsibility, except the actual pedestrian these days.

[Grogador]

"Sunset" is when our fireball touches the horizon, 1hr later it is over the horizon and there's no light left in the sky. I see you've never hunted... Try it tonight, "sunset" is at 17:02

[whiskas]

School zones in general are annoying. How dare we expect parents to teach their crotch droppings not to run out into traffic

[msommers]

Originally posted by 3g4u
Most people around my neck of the woods slow down for the playground zone before 8:30 am anyway so this really wont affect me.

Fuck does this ever piss me off. It's 7:00 am and I got some asshat in front of me barely doing 30!!! Thanks for being cautious but no thanks I suppose.