Nearly 18,000 students across Lethbridge headed back to the classroom on Tuesday, marking the official start of a new school year. “It’s exciting to be going into Grade 5,” said Briar Maret, a student at West Coulee Elementary School. “Unfortunately (Briar and I) are not in the same class but I got an awesome teacher,” said Grade 5 student Charlotte Loewen. “I’m excited, too.” More than 12,000 students are enrolled in the Lethbridge School Division, while about 5,400 are attending the Holy Spirit Catholic School Division. “We are absolutely thrilled as a school division to partner with parents, guardians and families in educating their children,” said Christine Light, Lethbridge School Division board chair. “We know that they are going to have an incredible year and their teachers are excited to have them in the classrooms.” As the new academic year underway brings a significant increase in children out and about, the Lethbridge Police Service (LPS) is reminding drivers to adjust their habits. “We just want to reminder motorists when they’re driving into the school zones to be aware of pedestrians walking, kids are going to school,” said Sgt. Tony Ramotowski, with LPS’s traffic response unit. “Make sure you aren’t distracted. Make sure you’re obeying the speed limits. As well, pedestrians need to make sure that you are crossing at a marked crosswalk (and) if there’s any lights (to) activate the lights.” In Lethbridge, all school zones have been converted into harmonized playground zones with a maximum speed limit of 30 km/h daily from 7:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. year-round. Building on previous traffic-calming initiatives, the City of Lethbridge has installed temporary traffic-calming curbs at 11 locations throughout the community. “You might see lights, enhanced crosswalks and enhanced signs with reflector strips,” explained Ahmed Ali, manager of transportation engineering with the City of Lethbridge. Crews have also installed large precast concrete curbs along the edge of roadways to create temporary curb extensions or narrow driving lanes. The city says these measures are designed to encourage slower driving speeds, improve visibility between pedestrians and drivers and shorten crossing distances at key locations. “We have a number of tools and we try to use them as appropriately as possible,” Ali said. Ali says the city has completed School Travel Plans for all elementary schools in Lethbridge, which aims to serve as a guide to help families map out the safest route to and from school. “We designed safer school routes and provide education to parents and students to follow those school routes where we have more controls and where they’re safer,” Ali added. Once students reach school grounds, the Alberta Motor Association School Safety Patrol program will help those crossing the street. “We’re teaching kids how to be leaders in their school, to be able to take charge at a crosswalk as well as to learn the importance of volunteerism in their community,” said Allison Purcell, school safety patrol coordinator. “So, the patrollers know and understand that they are making a difference in the city of Lethbridge when they are out there. They are helping to ensure these crosswalks are safe while we get our kids back and forth to school every day.”
