Parents of students at Nicola Canford Elementary School in Lower Nicola are raising concerns about the dangerous conditions their children face getting to and from school each day. 

At the PAC meeting of Oct. 18 there was much discussion of the multiple safety issues; in attendance as guests were Lower Nicola Indian Band (LNIB) Chief Stu Jackson, School District (SD) 58 Trustee Gordon Swan, SD58 Trustee Everett Hoisington and Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure (MOTI) representative, Justin Jepson.

The Parent Advisory Council (PAC) previously drafted a letter addressed to Deputy Minister of Transportation, Kathryn Krishna and the Thompson Nicola Regional District (TNRD), outlining their concerns and proposing both short- and long-term solutions. 

Students who walk to Nicola Canford use Hwy. 8 and Aberdeen Rd. Unfortunately, neither route is pedestrian friendly with a lack of shoulders, sidewalks and crosswalks, deep roadside ditches, inadequate signage, and poor road markings. 

These issues were presented to MOTI two years ago, at which time no changes were made as the current situation was deemed to be adequate according to Ministry policies. However, several parents noted that there is now more commercial activity on Hwy. 8 and Aberdeen Rd. with the opening of a new gravel pit and a return to operations at the former Craigmont Mine, as well as truck activity by Trans Mountain contractors. 

“I’ve requested a count be done at those four locations: Earnshaw, which is Smith Pioneer Park, Turner which is where the bus stops and then on Hwy. 8 at Postell, and at Aberdeen and Hwy. 8,” said Jepson, who doesn’t believe that the outcome will be different now than it was in 2019 and that it will be up to parents, the SD and community to lobby for change. 

PAC members hope to see more crosswalks added to the routes children use getting to and from school, as well as flashing lights such as the overhead crosswalk lights where Garcia St. crosses Nicola Ave. in Merritt, or the street side lights that have been placed in several locations such as outside of the post office downtown. 

Technically, Nicola Ave. in Merritt is Hwy. 8 and the posted speed is the same, 50km/hr. 

In addition to crosswalks and flashing lights, short-term goals are also to install better, more adequate signage informing drivers that there is a school in the area, despite it being out of sight, proper road line and meridian painting and a permanent speed reader sign as speeding vehicles are perhaps the number one safety issue. 

Unlike all other schools in the Merritt area, there is no school zone for Nicola Canford, which would lower the posted speed to 30km/hr. 

“Our transportation policy is that you cannot have less than 50km/hr posted on a numbered highway, but there’s always exceptions to those rules,” said Jepson. 

“The time we asked before we were told no, I think this time we say how do we get the exception here, what do we have to do to convince you that breaking the rules here is the smartest thing to do.” 

JJ Holmes, a member of the PAC, spent 30 mins each day for three days clocking vehicle speeds in a 50km/hr zone with help from a mobile radar speed sign. 

On day one, Holmes sat near Smith Pioneer Park at 8:50 a.m. where he observed 32 cars, six commercial vehicles and one small bus. Out of the 32 cars, 21 were travelling 60km/hr, four commercial vehicles were going over 58km/hr and the school bus was travelling at 70km/hr. The top speed he observed was 78km/hr.

On day two, beginning at 2:30 p.m. Holmes observed 33 cars, six commercial vehicles and one small school bus. Out of 33 cars, 14 were travelling at 60 km/hr, two commercial vehicles were going just over 55km/hr and the school bus was clocked at 60 km/hr. The top speed Holmes observed on the second day was 80km/hr. 

On day three, beginning at 8:20 a.m. Holmes collected the speeds of 26 cars, two commercial vehicles and one small school bus. Out of 26 cars, seven were travelling over 60km/hr, the commercial vehicles, “They got a stern talking to, and they saw me sitting there and none of them sped,” said Holmes. The top speed observed that day was 77km/hr. 

Community members have been in contact with the RCMP and CVSE in the hopes of having speed and road safety enforced, as well as the possibility of having a crossing guard before and after school to assist children in crossing the highway. 

Safety issues are exacerbated by winter conditions, particularly when the Coquihalla Hwy. closes and Hwy. 8 is used as an alternate route by people unfamiliar with the area and the fact that they are passing an elementary school. 

“It just takes one highway closed over the winter and one kid to dart out on an icy road,” commented one parent. 

The ideal solution proposed by the PAC is the construction of a multi-use path from Rocky Pines to the Kettle Valley railbed which would provide students and others in the community of Lower Nicola with a safe route. 

This would include a six foot easement offered by a local property owner with the stipulation that it be fenced and all liability and responsibility for maintenance be taken off the property owner’s hands. 

“I think the biggest thing that needs to happen is that pathway, because we’re talking about the dangerous situation of pedestrians on the road,” said Jepson. 

“You put a path in, they’re not on the road anymore at all. You’re removing the pedestrians from the hazard completely.”

Swan noted that the TNRD may be willing to provide gas tax funds for the construction of the path, and Jepson felt certain that local contractors would take on the construction and maintenance of the path. 

“I don’t think getting it constructed will be a problem, there’s enough contractors in this community right here that would go and build it in a day as a community enhancement… I don’t think that would be the issue,” said Jepson. 

LNIB Chief Stu Jackson threw his support behind the proposed projects. 

“A lot of our kids get here through the bus system… but kids will miss the bus, kids want to ride their bike, so there’s moving parts, literally, of how kids are going to get to and from school,” said Jackson. 

“But I’m thinking about other people I see on Aberdeen Rd. like grannies and moms and dads, and moms with their babies. They’re all doing the same thing that our kids are trying to do, they’re trying to live. And Aberdeen Rd. has obviously gotten more active, Hwy. 8 of course has gotten considerably more active… I’m just thinking, what happens if something happens? That’s the problem, are we going to wait for a catastrophe? We know that our kids are at risk. Anyone that’s walking on Hwy 8 or Aberdeen, is at risk.”

Those who wish to offer their support of the safety modifications along Aberdeen Rd. and Hwy. 8 are encouraged to reach out to the Nicola Canford PAC, MOTI and the TNRD.