On Wednesday, June 2, 2021, a CAA School Zone Safety Assessment was conducted at two Regina elementary schools, St. Kateri Tekakwitha, 4415 James Hill Road and École Harbour Landing, 4419 James Hill Road. The assessment took place before school from 8:00 to 9:15 a.m. and after school from 3:00 to 4:00 p.m.

Staff from Regina Public and Regina Catholic School Divisions, Regina Police Service (RPS)Traffic Services, RPS School Resource Officers, and CAA Saskatchewan worked in teams to track risky behaviours for drivers and pedestrians in the two school zones.

Twyla West, spokesperson for Regina Catholic School Division, remarked “we’ve heard from several of our school division staff and families that school zone safety remains an ongoing concern, with increased congestion of vehicles, bicycles, and pedestrians. We’ve observed that continued risky behaviours performed by drivers include speeding and making U-turns in a school zone which are both are illegal and unsafe. We would like to remind drivers to respect pedestrians, including students, in our school zones. Know the risks.”

“Our school zones are hubs of activity for students of all ages,” said Terry Lazarou with Regina Public School Division. “The outdoors is perfect for students running, playing, biking, and using their scooters. Safety may not be top of mind, so through the CAA School Zone Safety Assessment, we are able to track pedestrian and driver risky behaviours, for the purpose of making changes for everyone’s safety.”

“The CAA School Zone Safety Assessment is an online application(app) that tracks the identified risky behaviours and ultimately provides education and awareness about the importance of school zone safety,” said Vanora Gagnier, CAA School Zone Safety Coordinator. The assessment tool is free of charge and can be booked through CAA. School or community staff must make themselves available for onsite tracking and can work with CAA to establish the risky behaviours to be tracked. The results are collected and given to the school community to share with staff, students, families, community partners, and decision makers regarding steps required to improve the safety in their school zones.

According to a CAA study, the top two hazardous driving behaviours that motorists perform in a school zone are speeding and distracted driving. 92% of parents have noticed one or more bad driving behaviours in 2019 compared to 86% in 2017. Jaywalking and failing to look both ways before crossing the street were the top two risky behaviours for pedestrians.

CAA reminds motorists that we can work together to make our school zones safe by eliminating distracted driving, observing traffic laws, paying attention to ‘no stopping’ and ‘no parking’ signage, and driving according to the posted limit. Drivers, please remember performing U-turns in school zones is illegal in some municipalities. Be aware of the CAA School Safety Patrollers on duty and follow their directions.

It’s good safety practice for students to STOP, LOOK and THINK before crossing streets and busy intersections. Students and families, please don’t run out in traffic or between parked cars, busses, or buildings, and remember to cross at crosswalks and marked intersections and never jaywalk.

The combined number of risky behaviours at both schools during the CAA School Zone Safety Assessment is 1,141.  Detailed results are attached.

Learn more at caask.ca/schoolzonesafety and download the CAA Youth Safety booklet.

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For further information, contact:

Vanora Gagnier
CAA School Zone Safety and CAA School Safety Patrol Coordinator
306.310.6222, ext. 0982
vanora.gagnier@caask.ca