Girouard and Upper Lachine is a super dangerous corner where many children cross in the morning, as there's a preschool one block away.
My own small kids were almost run over twice at this corner by crazy motorists even though I was standing right next to them.
Two winters ago two people were run over just a few feet west of here in separate incidents.
There's an old age home nearby, two adult schools and a preschool opening up, so it's a real busy mix of vulnerable and distracted people and speeding cars.
Amazingly the City of Montreal police department station 11 decided to remove the crossing guard that had always been at this corner. The result has been very scary.
Someone went to the borough council meeting to question this decision but NDG/CDN Mayor Applebaum refused to answer, claiming that it was a police matter, even though the police regularly attend these meetings and answer questions.
Police officer Ginette St-Amand told me that they counted the number of children crossing at that corner and it didn't meet the minimum requirements. But they don't count the small pre-schoolers, because they're accompanied by parents. If you have a kid you'll realize that small kids are still vulnerable to speeding cars at busy intersections even when they're with their parents.
There's a fixed number of crossing guards so when a new one is required, another one has to get canceled. This one was transferred to Somerled and Westhill.
There seems to be a big conspiracy at this corner, which has been slated to be transformed into a giant traffic circle, which even Mayor Applebaum admitted could further imperil pedestrians in the area.
As of September 2012, this intersection is being completed revamped to accommodate future access to the MUHC superhospital as well as to--hopefully--alleviate the traffic flow in general.
ReplyDeleteThat ancient 1930s-built railway underpass with its unacceptably low 3.55 meter clearance will be history as well. How many trucks got jammed in there!