Montreal West parents call for crossing guards after high school student was hit

A group of parents at Royal West Academy have launched a petition calling on Quebec to change its policy on crossing guards to include high schools, saying student pedestrians are at risk.

Every day hundreds of students from Royal West Academy cross the busy intersection of Westminster Ave. and Ainslie Rd., which has been flagged as particularly busy and dangerous.

In November 2024, 14-year-old student Charlie Shein was on his way to school when he was struck by a car crossing Westminster Ave.

“Luckily I got away with not getting that injured,” he said. “But if someone were to get hit again, I don’t think they would be that that lucky.”

His mother, Samara Zavalkoff, an intensive-care unit physician at the Montreal Children’s Hospital, said crossing the road safely shouldn’t be left up to chance.

“We are now more than a year out, and not enough has been done,” she said. “I still feel that the risk of this happening to another child, and the outcome being worse, is very high.”

The accident mobilized a group of parent volunteers to take action, including asking police for a crossing guard.

“We shared some numbers that we had collected about the intersection, how many kids cross it every day and they said right off the bat, you’re not eligible because this is a high school,” said parent volunteer Joanna Duy.

Quebec’s automobile insurance board (SAAQ) considers pedestrians over the age of 12 to be adults, and under its guidelines crossing guards are only at primary schools.

Parent committee representative Jessica Woytiuk said they decided to launch a petition asking Quebec to change its policy to include crossing guards at dangerous intersections near high schools, which can be found on the National Assembly’s website.

“It’s about time that we all slow down and look at our policies and change them for the safety of our children,” she said.

Woytiuk said they are trying to gather as many signatures as possible before the end of February, when Liberal MNA Desiree McGraw, whose riding includes Montreal West, will deposit it in the National Assembly.

They say having crossing guards at high schools isn’t about infantilizing high school students but deterring drivers from running through stop signs.

Shein said he supports the petition.

“I think it’s not fair to judge high schools by a different standard than elementary schools, based on whether they should get a crossing guard or not,” he said.