Alberta Minister of Transportation Wayne Drysdale has committed to looking at some options regarding the concerns over the 100 km/hr speed limit along Hwy 22, through the community of Westbrook.
“Alberta Transportation is working closely with the school to address their concerns regarding the speed limit, signage and intersection access (around the school) and we feel confident we can reach an agreement,” said Christine Way, press secretary for Drysdale.
Way confirmed that ‘changes would take place’, but could not comment on specifics at present time or when an announcement would be made.
Drysdale met with the Westbrook School council, administration and RCMP Feb. 12 and was advised of a multitude of community concerns surrounding safety.
The concerns stem from Alberta Transportation’s decision to re-designate the area along Hwy 22 that runs by the K-8 school from ‘school zone’ to ‘school area’, removing the signage in September 2014 that had been in place for decades indicating for drivers to slow down to 30 km/hr at peak school hours throughout the day.
Now all that remains are signs indicating that a school and pedestrians are ahead, with no speed limit posted. This signage has left drivers along Hwy 22 uncertain of what the existing speed limit is — a potential for accidents, as drivers are left confused.
Fenton Bus Lines owner/operator Kathy Fenton and driver Vanessa Reeve (also a mother of two and the president of the Westbrook school council) have spoken to the Eagle and expressed grave concerns over not only the ministry’s decision to remove the signage — but also over the lack of public education that the signage would be removed.
While both drivers agreed that the re-designation from ‘school zone’ to ‘school area’ was understandable (given that the school itself is an adequate distance from Hwy 22 where students are not directly crossing the highway during school hours), both have found the end result to be completely unacceptable.
Raising the limit to 100 km/hr, improper signage, an inadequate turning lane eastbound off Hwy 22 (at Twp. Rd 281) and a complete absence of a southbound turning lane into the school amount to what both drivers feel is ‘an accident waiting to happen’.
“The Alberta government created this death trap,” said Fenton, who runs three school buses, transporting some 89 students to Westbrook daily, as well as two charter buses to transport kids to Cochrane, Airdrie and Bearspaw schools.
“I plan to hold the minister of transportation personally responsible for anything that happens to my school buses and students,” said Fenton, citing two separate incidents this year that ‘rocked my bus and made my kids scream’ — one where a fully loaded gravel truck passed her (illegally) at well over 120 km/hr as she was making a southbound turn into Westbrook School and another where a fully loaded transport truck did the same thing.
“If either truck would have hit us, it would have been catastrophic — there would have been fatalities.”
As traffic along Hwy 22 (both passenger and industrial) continues to increase, the pressure on the intersection at Hwy 22 and Twp. Rd. 281 in mounting — with staff, parents driving their children and school bus traffic relying on that intersection daily.
Flashing lights were installed in 2004 to signal a school ahead for motorists, but removed in 2009 due to ‘faulty equipment’; Fenton questions whether or not this was simply a failure to maintain the equipment on the part of the province.
The school council has been lobbying for change since the beginning of the 2014/15 school year —including an informal petition which garnered over 80 signatures.
Colleen Munro is the Rocky View Schools Ward 5 Trustee. She has been actively involved with the Westbrook school council, pushing for changes and meeting with area MLAs along the way.
“Having the minister come out to meet us is a great win,” said Munro, who reiterated the concerns expressed by Fenton and Reeve, adding that reducing the speed limit along that stretch of Hwy 22 to 70 km/hr. would be ideal, but that even 80 km/hr. would be livable.
She added that a change in speed limit must be a ministerial order, so it would likely take some time for this to come in effect.
Munro said the amount of industrial vehicle traffic on the road is of top concern to her, stressing that fully loaded industrial vehicles are not able to come to an emergency stop safely for turning school buses at speeds in excess of 100 km/hr. Under ideal conditions, a vehicle travelling 50 km/hr needs 24-28 metres to come to a complete stop, while one moving 30 km/hr requires 11-13 metres.
