A new speed-reader board acquired by the Grand Forks Citizens on Patrol from ICBC will be placed in school zones on a scheduled basis for the next few weeks.
Set up first behind Perley Elementary School last Wednesday, the new equipment is the start of a speed watch program that will make drivers aware of how fast they are driving.
“The idea behind it is obviously preventive; it’s not enforcement,” said the Grand Forks RCMP’s Staff Sgt. Jim Harrison.
“It’s to get people to slow down around the school zones. That’s what we’re targeting first.”
Scheduled to be placed before and after school hours, the speed-reader’s presence around school zones is the start of the program. Last Friday, the speed-reader moved to the new crosswalk by the highway by Hutton Elementary.
Harold Kopan, a volunteer with Citizens on Patrol said, “Well it’s about time, isn’t it? We need to get people aware of what the school zones are and to slow down, so we’re hoping to make an impact.”
ICBC provided $5,000 worth of equipment and training to the volunteers of Citizens on Patrol with the board.
The speed board is to be set in Grand Forks on a permanent basis and will rotate around various areas where speeding is an issue.
“What we’ll do is look at other problem areas around the city that we have speed issues with and to set the board up there – some of the day care centres, some of the places around Boundary Lodge and areas like that where we know we have speed concerns,” Harrison said.
The speed board will move between both elementary schools for several weeks.
“In town usually everyone is driving slow enough, but it’s near the school zones that everyone has to take care of (their speed),” Kopan added