One-third of Ontario parents believe school zones are unsafe: Ipsos poll

Just days after a five-year-old girl died after being pinned between two cars while being picked up from school, the CAA is out with a new survey that shows one-third of parents believe school zones are unsafe.

The poll, conducted by Ipsos, found that traffic volume and dangerous driving behaviour are the biggest concerns for parents when it comes to school zone safety.

Two in five people asked said they had “witnessed or experienced” an incident in a school zone.

The survey found that the most frequently witnessed dangerous behaviours are adult pedestrians using their cellphones while crossing the street or crossing unsafely at an uncontrolled place midblock. Other dangerous behaviours included drivers double parking, speeding and stopping in undesignated areas.

The survey asked 1,000 parents of school-aged children (kindergarten through grade 8) across Ontario.

CityNews spoke to Matti Siemiatycki, an associate professor of geography and urban planning at the University of Toronto about some of the practical ways to make the areas around school zones safer. Watch below.