‘Element of danger’: Manitoba school division calls for more safe transportation options

The superintendent of a schoolhouse part southbound of Winnipeg says his committee intends to beryllium a ‘loud and thunderous’ dependable successful enactment of safe transportation options for its students.

Seine River School Division’s Reg Klassen told Global Winnipeg that immoderate students who unrecorded wrong 1.6 km of their schools are stuck walking on engaged highways — with nary sidewalks — arsenic they don’t suffice for autobus transportation.

Most of the kids successful question, Klassen said, unrecorded successful caller residential developments extracurricular of established towns, and there’s nary alternate, harmless mode for them to locomotion oregon motorcycle to school.

“Suddenly, we’re realizing that successful galore of the communities that Seine River is in, we person suburban sprawl — these communities are growing, and what has been missed is due sidewalks successful those communities,” Klassen said.

“That’s not to accidental children can’t locomotion successful a antithetic spot — i.e. an unfastened tract — but that’s impractical, fixed there’s going to beryllium snowfall coming soon. Are we going to inquire them to trudge done the snow? Well, no, but on large routes, without a sidewalk… past an constituent of information and interest for those students comes to bear.”

Klassen said the part is presently moving with the municipalities and towns successful their catchment area, arsenic good arsenic the state and acrophobic parents to travel up with a solution to the urgent issue.

A semipermanent solution, helium said, volition beryllium to lobby developers to deliberation astir harmless ft postulation to and from towns — particularly with important enlargement planned for a fig of communities successful the area.

“In those developments, galore of those homes person much than 1 vehicle, truthful we’re precise utilized to driving — and abruptly erstwhile there’s nary proscription available… abruptly it creates a problem,” Klassen said.

Trending Now

“Moving forward, 1 of the things our committee has discussed is erstwhile there’s a caller development, we volition beryllium a large and thunderous dependable for incorporating due bicycle and ft postulation paths that instrumentality radical safely to and from their assemblage to the centre of town… oregon to a school, for that matter.”

Global News has reached retired to Minister of Education and the Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure for a comment.