Event / Media / Photo op tomorrow - Back to School Colourful Feet

I and Liveable Bayswater are hosting an event tomorrow to draw attention to the need be careful on the roads as the kids head back to school. 

Where: corner of Bayswater and Beech

When: 10 am, August 27

Here's the bumph, .pdf attachment below.

27 August 2015 – The kids start going back to school beginning September 2. Kitchissippi Councillor Jeff Leiper, joined by Liveable Bayswater, wants drivers to pay special attention as children begin walking and biking to school again.

To help remind drivers that the new school year is underway, community members are painting Beech Street at Bayswater with their footprints. It’s a fun morning of colour and energy.

“The streets of Kitchissippi are seeing higher volumes of traffic as intensification continues. When main roads become congested, the temptation for drivers is to save time by cutting through residential neighbourhoods – sometimes with a lead foot. Summer is always quieter, but as people head back to the office and school, I want to remind drivers that the kids are cycling and walking to school again.

“Drivers need to drive safely and slowly – which doesn’t always mean going as fast as the speed limit allows. And, of particular concern, I’m asking drivers to come to a full and complete stop at stop signs and signals. As my son and others head back to the classroom, their safety is very much a concern for me.”

George Laing, who has played a key role in the Liveable Bayswater initiative, agrees with Jeff.

“At our June street party, people were surprised that there were so many kids on our street – yet we rarely see them.  It’s a sad situation. The balance between cars, bikes and pedestrians has skewed way over in favour of the cars. We need to strike a better balance. We need to remind drivers that this is a neighbourhood, not a thoroughfare. We need to make our street – and streets all around the city – safer for kids.”

For more information, contact Jeff Leiper (613.580.2485 | jeff.leiper@ottawa.ca) or George Laing (kgcs@magma.ca).