MONTREAL - A petition started by a concerned parent has triggered a reaction from the Plateau-Mont Royal borough as a series of traffic calming measures will be instituted to make the corner of Laurier Ave. and Berri St. safer for the students of Ecole primaire Laurier.
The borough council passed a resolution Monday night that will make Laurier Ave. one way eastbound between St-Denis and St-Hubert Sts. in time for the start of the 2011-12 school year in September.
"Year after year after year, there were children hurt on this precise corner," borough mayor Luc Ferrandez said. "Everything that was tried like stop signs or speed bumps were not sufficient."
The borough will spend $5 million to "green" that section of Laurier, borough councilor Alex Norris said, widening sidewalks and creating a two-way bike path there.
"We're going to massively calm traffic in the area," he said.
The borough's actions were influenced by a petition started by Nathalie Laferte, who has two children who attend Ecole primaire Laurier, one of whom was hit by a car at the problematic corner a few months ago.
"She hit me," Juan Manuel, 12, told CTV Montreal's Camille Ross. "She hit her breaks and it just threw me on the ground and I panicked a little."
The close call convinced Laferte that she needs to act, and she took to gathering signatures on a petition. Nearly 400 people signed, and the borough council listened.
"For sure we are happy," she said. "Normally when we submit a petition to council, at most we just get an answer."
This time, she got actions.
