Hi everyone,
I’d like to express my personal gratitude for taking the time to vote and comment on the petition over the past 4 days. We now have over 400 signatures!
The city is already starting to look closer at the problem. They now know you really care. This is great, and your votes here are a huge part of the first step towards change. The job isn’t done, though!
Behind the scenes we have worked hard. We’ve had meetings, written letters, gathered data, posted, shared, strategized, put up posters, talked to countless people…And we’ve still got a lot left on our to do list. But we are determined.
It’s a lot of work outside of our full time jobs and our even more full time parenting duties. Last night, as I headed to clean a sink full of dishes (exhausted), I looked at my daughter, who was thoughtfully brushing our golden retriever, and reminded myself that she and her peers are worth the effort.
As I reflect on what we’ve already achieved together, I want to note that qualitative and quantitative data are not the same and likely won’t be congruent. What you’ve all experienced isn’t going to be recorded in any collected stats. But we can collect your personal impact here and collectively continue to call for safety for this school crossing.
It is also important for us to understand how intersections are ranked and evaluated. We now know the data was not current and now the city is looking at what the newer data might show. But it’s possible that the data collected does not factor in the type of pedestrians primarily using the crossing (elementary school children), or its proximity to a school. We will need to explore further and are inquiring to learn more about the process.
In other updates, we’ve had a lot of expressions of support from various folks highly involved in the school, including two NW school PACs and a school staff (counsellor and Principal included). Several city councillors we’ve spoken with appear to be very interested in supporting a change and exploring how to do this effectively.
We do plan to continue to advocate at the upcoming Queens Park Residents Association Annual General Meeting on November 24, 2024 from 2-4pm at 580 Queens Ave, New Westminster, BC V3L 1K3 and we would most certainly welcome and appreciate folks to join us. See you there? The Mayor will be present.
Finally, check out the article in the Record shared today :).
Please reach out if you want to help further or if you have a story to share.
Thanks again!