Mr. Speaker, we certainly have our work cut out for us here in this chamber. From mine closures to the housing crisis, Arctic sovereignty to Indigenous reconciliation, there is no shortage of complicated issues we've been elected to find solutions for. Today, however, I want to speak about a problem that is much simpler to understand but just as serious to the safety and well-being of the public - crosswalks and intersections.
The problem is clear-cut. Motorists are going to drive, pedestrians are going to walk, and children are often going to be a little less predictable when they appear. Yet, we have crosswalks in my riding of Range Lake where the lights aren't functioning at all or don't even exist at all. Just in front of Range Lake North School at Borden Drive and Rivett Crescent, my constituents have been crossing without knowledge that a button they pressed did not initiate a warning to drivers that they were present resulting in some extremely close calls. This issue was a fairly major concern in the riding and actually made the local news.
Farther up Borden Drive, the crosswalk between Nova Plaza and Walmart has no lights at all. On some days, that narrow stretch of road can be best described as organized chaos. The flow of vehicles is constant, especially as those which turn in often, quickly turn once more to the parking lot at their destination. Meanwhile, people are often frustratedly standing trying to cross, and just a few metres beyond, that lies a busy bus stop on a tight bend.
I do want to commend the city of Yellowknife for quickly initiating repairs to the crosswalk lights by Range Lake North School and adding temporary signage to minimize any confusions. In fact, as I drove in to work today, I saw a crew of workers from the city finally fixing these lights. This may be a Range Lake issue, but truly all politics begins at a local level. My Range Lake constituents brought these concerns forward, the local administration applied their knowledge and resources to find the solutions, so now we have to do our part contributing the resources necessary to ensure school zones are the safest they can be and no matter the mode of transportation, everyone can get to and from their destination safely. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member from Range Lake. Members' statements. Member from Monfwi.
