SECURITY. Exactly five years to the day after the death of young Anaïs Renaud, her mother Jacinthe Latulippe launched a provincial offensive in Saint-Flavien to urge the government to take the lead in ensuring pedestrian safety.

Ms. Latulippe was challenged by the death of young Mariia (who was also at school) in Montreal last December. In doing so, she sends a heartfelt cry to the government and invites the population to^ah March in collaboration with Piétons Québec and Accès Transports Viables.

“It is unacceptable for children in Quebec to die on the way to school. We know how to avoid these deaths and it is high time we gave ourselves the means to get there. The problems we have faced over the past five years since the death of our daughter have shown the limitations of the current framework,” said Jacinthe Latulippe.

The latter is therefore inviting the people of Quebec to sign the petition for children’s right to walk safely and to present themselves in front of their neighborhood school on March 15 and take part in the national demonstration to put an end to the road insecurity along the route. School.

For their part, Piétons Québec and Accès Transports Viables remind us that there are solutions and that we must put “pressure” on the government and remind it of “the importance of preventive action” by setting up facilities that reduce the number and speed of vehicles.

In this sense, the organizations have identified two sectors where the government must act quickly: school roads and roads in the higher network, such as that of Saint-Flavien, which fall under the responsibility of the Ministry of Transport.

“The solutions for protecting pedestrians are well known: the state must act quickly to secure the routes to school, in particular by adopting national development standards, reducing the speed limit to 30 km/h in all school areas and installing photo radars. And the government must take responsibility for its own numbered streets within the city limits and take care of the construction and maintenance of sidewalks. A main street without a sidewalk in a Québec village, that shouldn’t exist anymore!” replied Accès transports Viables Director General Marie-Soleil Gagné.

Sign the petition: https://www.marcherensecurite.com/

The tragedy of the Renaud family

Remember that the 1^ah In March 2018, the life of the Renaud family changed when Anaïs, 11, started school. The young girl, who was walking down Principale Street (Route 271) for lack of a sidewalk, was hit by an SUV.

Five years later, the Department of Transportation has taken some mitigation measures, but the road is still not safe for pedestrians. Recall that the coroner Géhane Kamel had recommended the construction of a sidewalk.

In 2020 and 2021, the Saint-Flavien municipality took steps to build a pavement on Principale Street. However, the project was not accepted unanimously by the population, especially because of the costs and the impact on tax bills.

A referendum on this was held from August 18 to September 5, 2021. Of the 1,179 eligible voters, 648 cast their votes. Of those, 489 (75.46%) had voted against the municipality approving a $1.19 million loan to build the sidewalk.