Determined to ensure the safety of the city's most vulnerable road users, especially young pedestrians, the City of Montreal continues to deploy its Programme de sécurisation aux abords des écoles (PSAÉ), which celebrates its fifth anniversary this year.
As young Montrealers head back to school these days, the City of Montreal is announcing that, thanks to its PSAÉ, more than 11,000 additional students will be safer on their daily commutes this year. Over the course of 2024, the surroundings of 32 establishments frequented by children, including schools and daycare centers, as well as five parks, will be calmed and made safer, in ten boroughs, representing an investment of $14 million.
Since its launch 5 years ago, the PSAÉ has made it possible to calm the surroundings of 121 schools, 7 daycares and 7 parks, thereby ensuring the safety of more than 50,000 students in the various boroughs of Montreal.
These measures are in addition to the many structural and one-off safety projects implemented throughout the city and its boroughs (traffic light interventions, street redesigns and repaving, etc.). Although the pace of safety improvements has accelerated in recent years, they would benefit from being coupled with the addition of photo radars. It should be remembered that, noting the great effectiveness of photo radar in protecting the most vulnerable road users, the City has asked the Quebec government to add nearly 300 of these devices in Montreal, and to allow it to determine their location. At present, the city has only eight photo radars in its entire territory. Photo radar is said to reduce accidents on the roads where it is installed by 42%. To date, the Quebec government has only agreed to the addition of 250 photo radars across the whole of Quebec, over the next 4 years. The City of Montreal considers these additions to be far from sufficient to meet the growing needs in the metropolis.
“Our administration has made safe travel a priority, notably with the Safe Routes to School program we launched five years ago. Since then, more than 50,000 students have benefited from this program, and we will continue to step up the pace. Quality of life in our neighbourhoods is one of Montreal's hallmarks, and safe travel is an essential part of it. The public is demanding more and more measures to ensure safe travel, and we are proud to respond by multiplying the number of pedestrian crossings, speed bumps and traffic lights with pedestrian priority in all Montreal neighborhoods,” declared Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante.
“At a time when more and more vehicles are circulating on our roads, it's crucial for the City to ensure that our young people can get to school safely and with a clear head, thanks to adapted facilities. Over the past five years, the Safe Routes to School Program has helped protect the lives of over 50,000 Montreal students, by calming the surroundings of more than 120 schools across the city. We have deployed concrete and effective measures, and we will continue these efforts, notably by strengthening the PSAÉ over the coming years,” added Sophie Mauzerolle, the elected representative responsible for transportation and mobility on the Executive Committee.
Here is the list of locations to be secured by 2024:
Boroughs | Secured locations |
Ahuntsic-Cartierville | École Régina Assumpta Garderie Jardin Bleu Garderie Main dans la main |
Côte-des-Neiges - Notre-Dame-de-Grâce | École internationale de Montréal - Primaire École Des Nations Corridor scolaire de l'Académie Solomon Schechter École des Cinq Continents |
Le Sud-Ouest | École Option High School Elizabeth High School École primaire Saint-Zotique École secondaire Saint-Henri |
Mercier - Hochelaga-Maisonneuve | École Ste-Louise de Marillac Annexe École Saint-Donat |
Montréal-Nord | École Sainte-Gertrude École Sainte-Colette École Saint-Rémi École primaire Jean-Nicolet |
Rivière-des-Prairies - Pointe-aux-Trembles | École François-La Bernarde |
Saint-Laurent | École Bois-Franc-Aquarelle |
Verdun | CPE Centre pause parents-enfants Parc Grenier |
Villeray - Saint-Michel - Parc-Extension | École Sainte-Lucie École Saint-Mathieu |
Ville-Marie | Parc Hector-Charland Parc Raymond-Blain Collège Ville-Marie École Saint-Anselme Parc Saint-Jacques CPE La Sourithèque École Saint-Georges Académie Michèle-Provost Parc Jovette-Marchessault |
About PSAÉ
The aim of the Programme de sécurisation aux abords des écoles (PSAÉ) is to speed up safety interventions around primary and secondary schools, as well as other places frequented by children, such as parks, by means of traffic calming measures, but also by making street crossings safer, such as the installation of curb extensions and raised crosswalks, for example. Through this program, the City encourages young people to get around on foot or by bike, by improving safety around the places they frequent through physical interventions Financed by the central city, the program enables the 19 arrondissements, which have the best knowledge of their territory, to propose projects and, once these have been selected, to carry out the work.
All proposed projects must be universally accessible and include planting areas wherever possible. The safety projects supported must not restrict bicycle or bus travel, and may include measures to encourage the use of these modes.
It should be remembered that the objective of Vision Zero, to which the Ville de Montréal has subscribed since 2016, is to achieve a record of zero deaths and serious injuries on its network.
