CBS school principal raises concerns over speeding

By Mark Squibb/October 7, 2021

Bruce Mandeville has only been the principal of Frank Roberts Junior High School since the beginning of this school year, but he’s already concerned about speeding near the school.

The school is found along the Foxtrap Access Road and is used by folks both to get onto and off Peacekeepers Highway and the TCH.

Despite the many signs, Mandeville said some drivers are driving much too fast.

“We have kids out walking on the access road, and there are cars coming down at tremendous speeds sometimes,” said Mandeville. “And that really drew my attention to it. And it made me kind of nervous. We were out there one day, and there was a couple of grade sevens coming up the road, and this one car came flying down. It made me really nervous, and if I was a parent, I would be really nervous if that was my child.”

He said the area becomes particularly busy— and dangerous— during the lunch break and dismissal, as not only are junior high students out and about, but students from Queen Elizabeth Regional High School, situated directly behind Frank Roberts, are also driving to and from their school, adding their vehicles to the traffic mix.

So far as Mandeville can gather, the issue is not a new one.

“It’s been an ongoing issue with speeding on that road,” he said. “From what I understand from talking to other staff and parents, the speed on the road has been an issue in the past.”

To that end, he invited members of the RNC mounted unit to enforce traffic calming measures nearby the school this past Monday.

“They would position themselves by the speed sign, and that way they would be able to draw people’s attention to the sign, and make sure people recognize it again,” said Mandeville.

Besides hopefully slowing some drivers down, Mandeville thought it would be a good community building experience for the Mounties to visit with students.

“It was a chance to come in and mingle with the kids, ask some questions, get a few pictures, and have a real community-school-RNC bonding type moment,” said Mandeville. “It’s a good way for the RNC to have a positive interaction with the kids, because sometimes the interaction is negative. But this could be a positive one.”