It was on Wednesday, January 28, 2009 that the Town of Saint-Lazare hosted, in the company of road safety partners and specialists, a public safety information session to review all measures and initiatives put forward to address safety issues on its territory. “Public safety – everyone’s responsibility” was the theme under which the session took place. Present were Mr. Gilles Beaupré, captain at the Sûreté du Québec, Mr. Eric Peissel, urban planner at Genivar and Mr. Gilles Boudreau, founder, of Citizens Action Committee on Public Security (CACSP) alongside Paul Carzoli, Saint-Lazare’s Mayor.

« Over the last few years, road safety has become every Quebec community’s concern and certainly a political issue for municipalities, the police force and citizens” said the Mayor. “We all want a safer environment, but a safer environment cannot be achieved without everyone taking responsibility for it. Road safety does not depend entirely and strictly on governments or the police force. It relies first and foremost on each and every one of us, as responsible drivers, responsible pedestrians, responsible cyclists and responsible horseback riders.” The mayor added.

“Road safety issues are largely attributable to controllable human factors » pursued Mayor Carzoli, «unfortunately; we live in a self-centered society which favours self-interest over public or community interest. The lack of courtesy, impatience, and intolerance dictate our daily actions. We more often see parents exceeding the speed limit to pickup their children at daycare or school, than parents slowing down for the safety of all children, your children and my children, in a school zone. This is the attitude we need to change! »

There are two reasons for the Town to hold this information session, the first one is to present an update of the numerous road safety measures taken by the Town, the Sûreté du Québec and the Citizens Action Committee on Public Security to improve road safety; the second is to bring citizens to question their own behaviour, and hopefully convince them to become active models rather than passive observers.

Measures taken by the town were presented by the Genivar Company and plotted on a Saint-Lazare map to provide an overall visual overview. Back in 2007, Genivar was asked to develop a tool to allow the Town to better estimate and manage citizens’ requests, to make impartial assessments and propose targeted measures. This tool, called the decision-making matrix, was developed by road safety specialists, and was necessary to avoid being influenced by perception and emotions. An excess of zeal in road safety measures can have the exact opposite effect for which the measures were intended for and end up frustrating more motorists. « Too many interventions are like not enough interventions. We know that putting too many stops signs and especially unjustified stop signs reduce their effectiveness. People just stop doing them.” the Mayor explained.

The Town and its partners have privileged three (3) aspects to improve road safety on its territory, » pursued the mayor, «the physical road environment which includes the road geometry, the road network maintenance and improvements, physical traffic calming measures including road signage, road markings, stop signs, speed humps and portable radar panel as well as the safety of pedestrian ways and bicycle paths. Awareness measures which remain the priority of the Citizens Action Committee on Public Security and the Sûreté du Québec and Law enforcement under the SQ’s authority. »

The Mayor did want to underline the importance to not underestimate each driver’s enormous responsibility. Their car’s condition and the state in which they drive dictate their capacity to be more or less receptive and attentive to the road. « In this context, everyone must assume their individual responsibility and behave, regardless of the bad or long day they’ve had, in a courteous way with every other road user, whether small or large, whether on foot or on a bicycle. It doesn’t matter how many interventions we take they have no impact without each driver’s involvement. »

«I would like to thank the Town’s partners and all of you, who have taken the time to attend this session. I would specially like to underline Mr. Gilles Boudreau's invaluable contribution. Mr. Boudreau has invested a countless number of hours on his personal time to increase our resident’s awareness and that of thousands of motorists, cyclists, and truck drivers as part of local prevention strategies. He has sincerely managed to make a real difference in our citizens’ behaviours and we are very grateful to him. »

Before inviting residents to continue their visit, the Mayor handed reflective armbands to all those attending.

The Town will invest no less than $10,000 this year to equip its residents with safety accessories at a reasonable cost including reflective armbands for pedestrians. These should be available shortly, at a reasonable price, at all municipal offices.

The Town also plans to subsidize reflective safety vests for all residents interested in this option.

Those unable to attend the safety session can visualise webcast presentations on the Town’s website.