Distributed on behalf of the Quinte Region Traffic Coalition.
Hastings and Prince Edward Counties / March 25, 2024
The Quinte Region Traffic Coalition (QRTC) is excited to announce that this year the Active School Travel campaign is expanding to more municipalities across the region. After experiencing great success in Quinte West, the QRTC has received another grant from the Ministry of Transportation (MTO) which will allow expansion of their Active School Travel campaign. This funding, available through the MTO’s Road Safety Community Partnership Program, will allow the QRTC to offer this campaign to municipalities who have not yet received student silhouettes and safety messaging. Safe driving behaviours, such as obeying the posted speed limits of 40km/h and avoiding distractions while driving, will help keep everyone safe in school zones.
The Active School Travel campaign includes temporary installation of road-side student silhouettes in five high-traffic school zones, as well as promotion of active school travel information. These silhouettes will be installed in Bancroft, Prince Edward County, Central Hastings, and Belleville, with a change of location for the existing Quinte West student silhouettes.
“These student silhouettes are a great road safety tool that supports the Active School Travel campaign and helps maintain safer roadways within our school zones,” says Staff Sargeant Jeremy Doolan of Quinte West OPP, co-chair of the QRTC.
This campaign has a been a collaborative effort between organizations on QRTC, as well as other community partners, including municipalities and school staff. Planning included gathering and assessing collision data to identify locations that may benefit from the signs, approving and installing the signs, and creating supportive messaging. This campaign is an example of successful community collaboration to address motor vehicle collisions and enhance overall community safety through education, enforcement and engineering.
If you know a municipality interested in joining this campaign, please reach out to healthycommunities@hpeph.ca
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Media Contacts:
Maureen Hyland, Communications Specialist
hyland.maureen@hpeph.ca
Communications Team
communications@hpeph.ca
About the QRTC
The Quinte Region Traffic Coalition is a partnership of Hastings Prince Edward Public Health, Bancroft, Central Hastings, Lennox and Addington County, Prince Edward County, and Quinte West OPP Detachments, Belleville Police Services, OPP East Region SAVE Team and the Ministry of Transportation. The QRTC aims to reduce the number of incidents resulting in injuries and deaths on roads, trails, and waterways in Hastings and Prince Edward Counties.
About Hastings Prince Edward Public Health
Hastings Prince Edward Public Health (HPEPH) is a public health agency that serves the counties of Hastings and Prince Edward from four local offices. HPEPH is situated and provides services on the traditional territory of the Anishinaabe, Huron-Wendat and Haudenosaunee people. We monitor the health of our local population, deliver programs and services within our communities, and help develop healthy public policies. We provide information and support in many areas to help improve the health and well-being of our residents. Together with our communities, we help people become as healthy as they can be. For more information, please visit hpePublicHealth.ca. You can also find us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter and Instagram.
We invite community partners and residents to share this media release with their respective networks.
