Grade 5 student pushing for safer roads near schools

At nine years old, Alexandre Masse is tackling road safety. He says it is an issue that comes up every day on his walk to school.

Ecole Notre-Dame-de-Lorette in Pincourt, Que., is home to roughly 450 students, including fifth grader Alexandre Masse.

At nine years old, he’s tackling road safety. He says it is an issue that comes up every day on his walk to school.

“A lot of cars go really fast. They don’t park at [...] at the good place,” Masse says.

“Once in winter, there was a car that got super fast and it was drifting.”

Masse and his mother, Annie-Claude Desrosiers, say there have been several close calls and incidents near the intersection of Lussier Avenue and Cardinal Leger Boulevard.

The boulevard is a two-way street with a bike path, but no sidewalk.

“On Dec. 23, there was a young child that had been hit by a car. So you know it’s a real problem for Pincourt,” Desrosiers says.

Incidents have occurred despite speed bumps, no parking signs and signals indicating a clear 30 km/h zone, so residents say they need more.

That’s also why Masse is taking what started as a school project all the way to the top. He’s petitioning for measures, including safer infrastructure near schools, more radar and crossing guards.

After a five-month campaign, he’s caught the attention of politicians including MNA Marie-Claude Nichols.

“There are a lot of things to do and he’s got a lot of solutions,” she says of Masse.

“We will try to work with the city, work with the police, work with the school also. But I’m sure we can do something.”