Pedestrian safety in spotlight at Kaleden school

Parents and school officials are ramping up the pressure for traffic safety improvements in Kaleden after a near-miss earlier this month.

Joline McNolty was dropping her sevenyear-old daughter off at school on April 5 when a vehicle sped by a school bus stopped with its lights on and its stop sign out.

"The (bus driver) was laying on his horn, trying to get the attention obviously of this dark-green Jeep Renegade that was flying down Linden (Avenue) past the playground and right past the bus," McNolty said.

"He had to swerve to miss the children. It was such a close call. I couldn't even believe what I was seeing to be honest with you," McNolty said.

The driver sped off without stopping, she said, despite her efforts to wave him down.

"I waved and yelled at him, but he didn't even stop. He looked at me, but just sort of shrugged his shoulders," McNolty said.

The bus drivers later that day told McNolty they have seen that vehicle many times speeding through the school zone in the morning.

"We're just lucky it was a near-miss," McNolty said.

The area where parents park on the narrow road around the school is congested, and an inefficient drop-off area, so McNolty and her fellow Parental Advisory Committee members have been lobbying for a sidewalk to be added to the area.

"As of yet we have been declined crosswalks and speed bumps. We have been told by different parties our school is too rural, there's not enough numbers of children to warrant these kinds of measures," McNolty said.

"We're not done. We're going to keep pushing forward."

Kaleden falls under the jurisdiction of the Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen, but roads are the responsibility of the B.C. Transportation Ministry.

Okanagan Skaha School District Trustee Ginny Manning said the board has been lobbying the province for several years in a bid to get a sidewalk added on Linden Avenue, and is optimistic she and the PAC gained some traction during a meeting Friday with Jeff Wiseman, a regional manager for the Transportation Ministry.

“Mr. Wiseman agreed to some measures that will, hopefully, increase student safety including road markings, signage and speed reader boards,” Manning said in an email that emphasized she was not speaking on behalf of the school board, but rather as the board’s liaison to Kaleden Elementary.

“Ultimately I would like to see a sidewalk constructed. I will also be looking to see that the safety improvements discussed at Friday’s meeting are carried out as soon as possible.”