Elementary students take road safety into their own hands

time2018/03/10

Elementary students take road safety into their own hands

To increase road safety, three students from Northlea Elementary and Middle School supplied brightly coloured flags at Leaside intersections.

After the tragic death of Georgia Walsh and a surge in Leaside traffic, three elementary school students have taken road safety into their own hands.

Oliver Wong, Arnav Shah and Quinlan Birmingham, students at Northlea Elementary and Middle School, created Crosswalk Company, stocking bright orange flags that residents can carry when crossing the street at busy intersections.

“We created a simple flag system,” said Shah, 11, of the design, primarily devised to keep children safe, although adults have been seen using the flags, too, he added. “What happens is when a pedestrian comes to cross, they look both ways, the regular stuff, maintaining eye contact with the drivers, and then they put the flag up and walk across. Not only does this make them more visible, but makes them (the drivers) more aware of the problem at hand.”