Action to curb speeders urged on northeast roads
Outcry follows boy’s death in ‘low-speed’ accident
Residents of a northeast community say speed bumps, better signage and a pedestrian gate are needed to curb speeders in a playground zone where a three-yearold boy was struck and killed by a car on Friday.
“They just don’t get it,” Becky Cameron said of motorists whom she’s seen speeding on the residential road on a daily basis. “How many children have to die before they start learning ?”
Emergency crews were called to Valleyview Road N.E. after 8:30 a.m. Friday after the boy was struck by a Ford Focus in what police called a “low-speed incident” in the playground zone.
The boy was originally reported in serious condition but later died in a Calgary hospital.
Police said they believe the child was crossing the road with his mother on the way to a day home in the 1700 block of Valleyview Road.
Cameron, who lives a block from the daycare, said she’s seen the boy and his mother cross the road many times in the six months or so they attended the day home.
“He was always really funny,” she said of the three-year-old. “He was always laughing, smiling. It’s just horrible.”
“I don’t know them very well, but I do know how sweet and gentle she was and how loving her little boy was,” Cameron said. “She was a good mother, but things happen.”
Playground zone signs in the area are difficult for drivers to spot and many people end up speeding past the playground, unaware they are putting children’s lives at risk, Cameron said.
Neighbours in Vista Heights who spoke to Postmedia want the city to install speed bumps on Valleyview Road to slow drivers.
They have also asked for a gate at the playground’s entrance to slow down kids before they run into the neighbourhood.
Corey Park, who lives a few houses down from the day home, said he’s almost been hit by speeders on the road. When he first heard about the fatal collision involving a child, he feared it was one of his five children, calling the accident “heartbreaking.”
Park wants a gate installed on a large, open part of the playground’s fence where he often sees children in the park chase after balls rolling “down the pathway, sloped toward the road.”
“The kids chase the ball and then it’s always a close call,” Park said.
“A speed bump and a gate, and that’s not very expensive. That’s a great idea.”
Coun. Ray Jones, whose ward includes Vista Heights, said community members can bring their concerns to a meeting on traffic safety in Ward 10 scheduled for Nov. 21 at the Crossroads Community Association.
Jones said the meeting was planed long before Friday’s accident but was pushed back a week for an open house on the potential Calgary 2026 Olympic bid.
“I can’t say yes or no to speed bumps,” Jones said. “The people that live there can promote it and the community can get us a letter and we can do something about it.”
Jones said there would need to be studies before any action was taken on traffic-calming measures in Vista Heights.
“So it’s something that’s going to take a little bit of time, and it’s too bad that something like this has to happen ... for people to get spurred to do something about it,” Jones said.
Coun. Druh Farrell has repeatedly brought concerns over pedestrian safety to city council, including filing a proposal to lower the speed limit on residential roads to 30 km/ h.
Last month, council voted to lower the default speed limit from the current 50 km/h standard on residential streets and some collector roads.
Transportation officials will return to council in the spring with recommendations on whether the new speed limits should be 30 km/ h or 40 km/ h.
Farrell said she would be in favour of standardizing traffic calming measures — such as speed bumps — in all Calgary school and playground zones.
“The consequence of a mistake shouldn’t be death, and children make mistakes,” Farrell said. “So it’s protecting our children from the consequences of their actions, which is one of our core responsibilities.”
Numbers provided by the city in 2016 showed at least one person was struck by a vehicle on Calgary streets every day.
Thursday’s collision was the second fatal incident involving a young child and a vehicle in Calgary last week.
A six-year-old girl was struck and killed by a CTrain on Monday morning as she was crossing the train tracks at 162nd Avenue and Shawville Rise S.E.
“It goes beyond playground zones and residential streets,” Farrell said. “We have the responsibility to look at our entire transportation system. We have the tools to make it safer, let’s implement them.”