Parent and principal concerned about crosswalk after student hit

A school principal and parent are reminding driversabout a less recognizedschool zone, after they say a 15-year-old student was hit while biking on a crosswalk across from ImmanuelChristian School last Thursday.

"I was just shocked that somebody could not see somebody at a crosswalk in a school zone, in a30 km/h zone in the middle of a crosswalk on a bright orange bike," said Ian Hall, the parent of the student who was in the accident.

Hall saidhis son has some scratches and bruises but is doing fine, and the bike needs repairs.

'This is a school zone'

Hall says sincehe wasn't there,he can't say for sure what happened but he would like to see a crossing guard at the crosswalk on Allen Street. He worries it isn't safe for students getting to the private school.

"My biggest thing is this is a school zone, even though it's not a traditional school zone with a traditional school in sight,
it's still a school zone and I don't think many people know that or realize that," Hall said.

ImmanuelChristian School principal Tom Deelstra also worries people don't notice the school zone signs on the street, or see the school which is located at the back of a building in a commercial area.

"Oh very, very concerned. We have a number of students, and you know safety is priority, and this crosswalk is right in front of our school," Deelstra said. "We want our students to be safe and to feel safe."

Busy crosswalk

Deelstrasays he's not sure how many students use the crosswalk, but says it is a busy spot since it also connects to the Confederation Trail.

Deelstra says he would like for police to monitor the street regularly.

The school has also messaged families to talk about cross walk safety with their children.

"We're hoping for more awareness. Thankfully the student was not physically injured worse than he was, but [we hope]that this raises the awareness," Deelstrasaid.

Charlottetown City Police are investigating and say they will be reviewing security camera footagefrom the crosswalk camera. No one has been charged.

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