Students at Bessie Nichols School held what they called a ‘citizen action walk’ on Friday.
Many held large handmade signs that read “slow down”, “speed kills” and “drive like your kids live here.”
“Because we need more safety on our roads and less people to get injured,” said Talia Kasawski, grade 6 student.
Kasawski’s sister Devony was one of two girls hit by a bus on Hemingway Road earlier this month. Another child was hit by a vehicle the same week.
Devony remains in hospital recovering from her injuries.
The incident has left Kasawski and many of her school mates afraid to walk to school.
“I’m getting rides home right now,” Kasawski said.
In addition to awareness, students want to see more marked crosswalks and speed bumps added to Hemingway Road.
“And the speed limit changed down to 30 in between Sister Annata Brockman School and Bessie Nichols,” said Kasawski.
“Our grade 6s have been studying democracy and they wanted democracy in action and they came up with many ideas, this was one of them and we wanted to support them in walking and raising awareness about safety,” said Judith Boyle, principal at Bessie Nichols School.
They’ve also written letters to their Ward 5 Councillor Sarah Hamilton.
“They’re asking that the adults in our city take notice because this isn’t just a Bessie Nichols issue, this is an entire school issue,” said Boyle.
Students are confident their voices are being heard.
“Because a lot of people joined us and supported it and a lot of drivers even slowed down when they saw us,” said grade 6 student Dasha Zaleskikh.
