480px-Speed_Limit_30_sign.svg Isn’t it funny how things work out? I had this idea for a post…something that has bugged me and I have been stewing about for the last 6 months. So today I was going to do my post and low and behold the complaint of my post was fixed at least this once.

Let me explain. I live on the corner of a 4 way stop at the start of a school zone. I walk to work and back home twice a day and my entire 3 block walk is in the school zone. At least once a week I am nearly hit when crossing at one of the 4 crosswalks along the route.

The school zones in Yellowknife have a speed limit of 30kph that is in effect 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 52 weeks of the year. 365 days a year the school zones have this supposedly enforced speed limit. I call BS. Most days along this route I can guarantee that 50% of the drivers don’t do the speed limit. In fact, in the evenings I would think I lived near a freeway with the speed that some people drive. Do the city by-law people seem to do anything about it? No! I think in the 4 years I have walked the school zone I have seen a ghost car (that everyone knows) maybe 6 or 8 times parked in the open for everyone to see hoping to pick off a speeder. Occasionally they get one and then call it a day and it might be 6 months until we see them again.

The same thing with the 4 way stop by my house. After 6:00pm I have watched and counted numbers as high of 80% of the cars not stopping at the stop signs. Does by-law do anything about this? About 2 or 3 times a year, that obvious ghost car sits across the street from my house watching the corner and they will sit for maybe 5 or 10 minutes while drinking a coffee or coke.

Every now and then they take off after someone to collect some money for the Christmas fund but most times they get bored after their few minutes of watching and off they go. Probably to refill the coffee cup or get a new coke.

So today was the first day of school for the Catholic Schools. The route I walk is the route that has 3 schools along it and 2 of them are Catholic schools. With the first day of school it seems that the by-law officers were prepared to crack down on speeders. The ghastly ghost car was sitting in plain view as I left for work this morning. As I arrived at work he took off after a speeder.

Just before lunch time the by-law enforcement team showed up in my parking lot…3 officers and 2 cars. They set up shop in our parking lot with one officer holding a radar gun and one of the cars sitting at the ready to flag speeders down. Awesome! As I was arriving back from lunch the crew just broke camp and were headed away. I am not sure how many speeders they caught but hopefully they were able to slow a few people down.

Much to my surprise, the crew showed up again around the time that school was getting out for the day and they spent another 45 minutes with the radar gun. Again awesome! So after walking the same route for 4 years the by-law enforcement decided to actually take the radar guns out of moth balls. This was only the third time I have seen them set up so it was good to see.

Now that they have been out I hope this is something that I don’t have to wait 4 years again to see. This route is abused with speed and by-law needs to spend more time slowing people down in this area. This stretch of road has as many as 1600 students attending school and the way people drive along here I am surprised that someone hasn’t been injured. Now, if only by-law will be as diligent on the 4 way stops it will make my home stretch of road a lot safer.

Good job today by-law guys. Keep it up. And thanks for making me change my post.

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