Editor:
Re: Parent ready to use paintball gun to fix traffic ‘chaos’ at Burnaby school, NOW News
I’m responding to the article the NOW posted about traffic issues at Sperling Elementary.
Let me say that I was happy to see the parents who made the presentation to the city make sure to add other parents as being some of the culprits who “recklessly speed” through school zones.
It’s easy to blame city workers, bus drivers and truckers for traffic issues in the city, but when it comes to local schools, I put most of the blame on the parents dropping off their kids and then picking them up each day during the week.
These parents are an absolute menace and it's not just around Sperling school.
I see it every day because I drive for a living and pass by a lot of schools in Burnaby. I’ve seen stuff that made the hair on my neck curl.
Parents seem to think that it’s OK to double and triple park on a public street just because they “will only be a minute.” Well, that’s not how it works. Just because you’re too lazy to park further down the road and then walk doesn’t mean you can just park in the middle of the street.
The article mentioned illegal U-turns and I’ve seen plenty of those. Parents, again, are too lazy once they’ve picked up their kids to just drive around in order to get going in a different direction and so they just pull a U-turn in the middle of traffic.
Sorry, but giving a friendly wave doesn’t excuse you for driving like a maniac with your children in that big bus of an SUV you are rolling around in.
For those reading, this doesn’t excuse other drivers racing through a school zone. You people also need to slow down and watch for children.
But it’s the parents who really shock me with their driving habits, especially after they’ve picked up their child. You would think a parent would be more cautious, but I guess they are just in a rush. The city needs to make more changes to literally force these parents to drive responsibly before a child gets killed.
S. Williams, Burnaby
