Cornwall day care center asks for school zone designation

Students get on the school bus at Heart of the Family Day Care Center on Monday, Feb. 12, 2018. Two employees have organized a petition to designate the area around the center a school zone, saying there are problems with speeding and parking on the narrow street. (Newswatch Group/Bill Kingston)

CORNWALL – A local day care center is asking the city to have a school zone for its street.

Cornwall City Council will receive a petition tonight (Monday) from two representatives of the Heart of the Family Day Care Center on Eighth Street West.

Early Childhood Educator Vanessa Marsolais and Gina Price say around a dozen buses drop 50-70 children off every weekday at the facility and there are problems with speeding cars and parking on the street.

Under provincial law, a municipality can designate a section of road under its jurisdiction and apply a speed limit to it that’s less than the normal speed limit (50 kilometers an hour). For example, in London, Ont., the school zones have a speed limit of 40 kilometers an hour.

A Cornwall petition with over 300 signatures was organized by Marsolais β€œto show our community is involved and on board with us protecting our children,” she said in an email to Coun. Carilyne Hebert.

The petition will be referred to staff for an upcoming report.

Tonight’s meeting starts at 7 p.m. at 360 Pitt Street.