Have you ever felt a swell of anxiety because of what seems to be thousands of teenagers emerging in clumps, swarming the roadway in front of you?
During lunchtime at Carihi, many students go to one of the shops along Dogwood street for lunch, rather than bringing their own. Since the school is located in between two traffic lights on the street, many students crossing the road at the same time can become a big problem for drivers. Recently, the word on the street, on social media, and in the classrooms is about students being fined if they jaywalk in between the two street lights in order to get to class on time, instead of walking to one of the crosswalks.
Grade ten student Julia Tonini thinks that it’s reasonable if students are fined, as we have been told before not to jaywalk. She also says that jaywalking across the street is safe as long as there are no cars.
Chariti Stewart agrees about fines being put in effect, and agrees with Aislinn Delorme that crossing the street is not safe.
Hayley Ellis, another student at Carihi, thinks it would be alright if a fine was implemented, but to lower the amount for students and minors as they may not have a stable income to pay it.
These students and many more can still be seen crossing in the middle of the road rather than one of the two intersections during their lunch times, often running to make it across in order not to inconvenience drivers on the road. It is a rare sight to find high schoolers crossing at dedicated crosswalks during lunchtime hours, as the amount of students in stores make the lines long enough that you’re pressed for time to get back before the bell rings again.