


September 27, 2002
Road Watch
Pilot Project to Target Road Safety at 5 Brampton Schools
Brampton, Ontario – Representatives from The
Peel Regional Police, The Brampton Safe City Association, The Brampton Safety Council,
and children and staff from Cherry Tree Public School announced a new Road
Watch initiative that’s been launched in 5 Brampton elementary schools. The initiative is part of a 4-month pilot
project to determine if the consistent use of Road Watch Reporting Forms by
teachers, parents and school area residents can be proven effective in reducing
aggressive and dangerous driving around schools.
“We’re thrilled to be involved with this
project and are confident that it will prove to be an effective way for schools
to participate in making their surrounding roads safer for the school
community.” (Councillor Avtar Aujla, Brampton Safe City volunteer board
member) The Brampton Safety Council is
one of the lead partners in the project along with Brampton Safe City and Peel
Police, “When Brampton Safe City approached us about helping them to launch
this initiative, we jumped at the opportunity.
As a group of committed community volunteers who want to ensure that our
roads are safe for children, we’re always looking for new tools that we can add
to help us in our efforts”. (Dian Gray, Brampton Safety Council)
The program has been initially launched in 5
local schools: Cherry Tree PS, Larkspur PS, St. Marguerite Bourgeois, Russell D
Barber, and St. Joachim. If successful,
the goal is to expand the initiative to schools across Brampton in 2003.
Road Watch is a Peel Regional Police program,
run in collaboration with community partners, that encourages people to report
dangerous and aggressive drivers by completing and submitting a Road Watch
reporting form to police. Reported
drivers receive a warning letter from police on their first offence, a personal
visit and warning from police on their second offence, and potential criminal
charges on a third offence. To find out
how your school can become a Road Watch School Safety Program participant,
please contact Paul Damaso at the Brampton Safe City Association at
(905) 793-5484.
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For more information:
Please contact Paul Damaso, Brampton Safe City Association
Phone: (905) 793-5484; Cell at (416) 526-5419