A Mamquam Elementary School parent who launched a crossing guard program witnessed a near miss about a week ago.
After the school district turned down requests for a crossing guard, last month, Miles Randell bought a sign and a safety vest and started helping kids cross Government Road near the school.
“There are tons of parents and kids really appreciative,” he said. “People say thank you. People roll down their windows and say thanks. A lot of drivers are paying attention and driving slower.”
But despite the crosswalk, flashing lights and crossing guard, the area still had a near miss on Tuesday, Nov. 12, he said.
“There was a kid walking across from the east side of the street halfway across and someone gunned it,” he said. “It sure looked like it was a conscious choice. They stopped at the crosswalk at the entrance to the [Spiral Mobile Home park and Amblepath] then they put the pedal to the metal.”
No one was hurt, but Randell said this kind of thing happens “a couple times a week.”
For its part, when asked if the crosswalk is on their radar or if they had had any issues with school zones this year, RCMP said in an email, “School zones in Squamish are regularly patrolled by the RCMP.”
The day after the incident, though, Randell said RCMP were on site patrolling for speeding.
“One other person—not a parent with a school-aged kid anymore—has offered to help,” he added. “It would be awesome if other people helped for sure.”
