Those who have driven through the school zones by Assiniboia Park Elementary School, and by Saint Michael School, may have noticed something different as of late – flashing signs located near the crosswalks in the school zone. The new additions were installed in October slightly delayed thanks to the snow we received near the end of the month.  

“We at the city recognize the importance of the safety of our community’s vulnerable pedestrians, particularly in school and recreational zones,” explained Renee Cugnet. She is a municipal engineer with the City of Weyburn. “This style of rapid, flashing pedestrian signs has been successful at improving driver awareness and increasing the pedestrian safety at our other locations around the city. We wanted to implement these same safety measures for the other two elementary schools in our community.” 

The project to get the new flashing signs installed was done thanks to the provincial Traffic Safety Fund, which is administered by SGI. The fund provided $17,334 for the project. 

“The process typically takes about six to seven months,” Cugnet said of the timeline. “We applied for funding from the Government of Saskatchewan’s provincial Traffic Safety Fund during the first application intake, which closed on March 31st. Then the signs were ordered shortly after the funding was approved at the beginning of July. We received the signs in early October, and the Public Works crew got them installed shortly after that.” 

The signs had been previously installed in the school zone at Legacy Park Elementary School and were also installed at the Don Mitchell Tot Lot, near the grounds of the former Haig School.