Sam Nelson is mad.
She’s mad not just about what she calls a “dangerous situation” around her neighbourhood school, but also about the City of Burnaby’s response to it.
Nelson lives near Clinton Elementary School in Burnaby and says children and parents are forced to walk along an area that creates dangerous situations.
“Outside of Clinton school there is a block and a half of gravel shoulder that acts as the school drop-off zone,” Nelson told the NOW. “This is located directly beside a very busy and old sidewalk with no curb or separation between the gravel shoulder and sidewalk. Then further along Clinton the sidewalk stops and the kids need to cross mid-block to the sidewalk on the north side of Clinton. It’s absurd. There have been so many near-misses of kids almost getting hit, it’s scary.
“You can imagine how busy this area is before and after school with cars coming and going, dropping kids off and the sidewalk packed with people walking to school. I’ve seen several instances where cars have backed up too far and ended up on the sidewalk.”
The school’s principal has written to the City of Burnaby and it is the city’s response that has upset Nelson and other parents.
The letter received from the city says Clinton is a prime candidate for sidewalk upgrades, but that it is assembling a “prioritized list” that could take years.
So the city is suggesting parents chip in to fix the situation.
“If the School or the School Board wish to see street upgrades even sooner, the City also has a Local Area Service Program, which is a cost-sharing program between property owners and the City,” reads the letter from the City of Burnaby. “This program requires petitioning within the block that requires the roadworks to confirm that a majority of homeowners are in favour of cost sharing on the road upgrades with the City.”
Nelson says she can’t believe it.
“So, basically, they want the parents of the school to pay for upgrades if we want it done sooner than five or 10 years,” Nelson said. “Why on Earth would we need to pay for a safe sidewalk outside our kids’ school? It should just be a priority. I don’t think the city should be asking for parents to cost-share upgrades around schools.”
