Parents say an uncontrolled intersection behind Ecolé Sage Creek School is putting students at risk.

“We’ve had some close calls – even with me walking beside her,” says Rebecca Warkentin, who walks her five-year-old daughter Katie to school every morning.

Warkentin lives on the corner of Wild Iris Walk and Prairie Smoke Drive. She says it’s not uncommon to see a car blowing past the stop sign.

“It’s just a matter of time, people don’t care. They drive how they want and hang the consequences,” Warkentin says.

Parents say Ecolé Sage Creek does a great job of keeping students safe at the front of the school. They have student patrols, a reduced school zone speed, controlled cross walks and a principal who helps direct traffic every morning.

But the intersection behind the school is like the wild west.

“We need to have a 30km/h school zone back here too,” says Warkentin. “Until then, I’ll just be waiting for something to happen.”

Winnipeg has seen a spike in fatal pedestrian collisions in the past month. Winnipeg Police Service’s Const. Rob Carver told media that three pedestrians have died in the past four weeks.

The most recent pedestrian death was a 57-year-old woman. She was struck by a construction vehicle in the parking lot of Garden City Mall on Monday.

The youngest was four-year-old Galila Habertergish. She and her family had immigrated to Winnipeg only two months before her death. The corner of the Alexander Avenue and Isabel Street is now overflowing with gifts, memorializing Habertergish.

Many schools across Manitoba enlist the help of student patrols. Parents say it’s not enough, but it is a step in the right direction.

Governor Semple Grade 5 student Carter Chaika says he’s witnessed some close calls.

“Well my friend almost got his foot ran over,” he says.

But, Chaika has learned a lot during his year of patrolling.
“I like to be a patrol because I like when people are safe and I like to cross people so the younger kids are safe and everyone in the community.”