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Montreal West parents seek return of crossing guard at troubled school intersection
🇨🇦 Canada /Culture & Society

Montreal West parents seek return of crossing guard at troubled school intersection

From Global News · () English

Translated from English and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Named sources Ongoing story
  • Parents at Royal West Academy want a crossing guard restored at Ainslie Road and Westminster Avenue, where three students were injured by vehicles over the past two years.
  • Montreal West is piloting narrower lanes and the removal of left turns, but parents worry construction could increase driver frustration.
  • Police said last year’s crossing guard served as an exceptional, temporary measure while the municipality assessed roadway changes.

Parents at Royal West Academy are asking for one more year of protection at the intersection of Ainslie Road and Westminster Avenue, where three students have been struck and injured in the past two years.

It is very frustrating. I feel we have gone a step backwards from where we were last year.

— Joanna DuyThe parent safety committee chair described the removal of the crossing guard.

Police placed a crossing guard there in April, but the temporary assignment ended with the school year. Parents had expected Montreal West to use the summer to reduce the roadway from four lanes to two and make changes near the adjacent level train crossing. That work has not yet taken place.

The parent safety subcommittee brought its request to the Montreal Agglomeration Council. A pilot project now proposes narrowing the roadway and removing left-hand turns. Montreal West Mayor Jonathan Cha said the changes should calm traffic and create more room for students to cross safely.

With these improvements, we really think that this will be some kind of calming measures and that there will be more space for kids to cross safely.

— Jonathan ChaThe Montreal West mayor explained the purpose of the planned roadway changes.

Parents still want the guard back while the work proceeds. Joanna Duy, chair of the school’s Royal West Parent Safety Subcommittee, said the changes could initially frustrate drivers and create new concerns. She said keeping a guard in place through the school year would give the city time to complete the improvements and allow conditions to settle.

We are asking for a school crossing guard for one other year. That would give the city the chance to make the improvements that it wants to make, but also to give the time for the dust to settle a little bit.

— Joanna DuyDuy explained why parents want the crossing guard retained during the transition.

Cha said he has discussed the urgent safety concerns with Montreal officials and hopes the city will provide a guard until at least the end of the school year. Montreal police described last year’s assignment as an exceptional and temporary interim solution for the 2025-2026 school year. The intersection reconfiguration is expected to begin Wednesday, with the new layout due by the first week of October.

We really hope the city will provide us a crossing guard at least until the end of the school year.

— Jonathan ChaThe mayor backed the request for continued crossing-guard coverage.
About this summary

Originally published by Global News in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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