New school year, no more crossing guard near Montreal West school. Parents want him back

New school year, no more crossing guard near Montreal West school. Parents want him back

'Heck, I’m 59 years old. I get scared crossing the street,' says parent

The start of a new school year has brought renewed calls for a crossing guard at a busy Montreal West intersection where students have been hit by cars in recent years.

At Westminster Avenue and Ainslie Road, near Royal West Academy and the Montreal West train station, the school’s principal has been helping students cross the road while parents continue to push for a more permanent safety measure.

Eric Lamoureux, chair of Royal West’s governing board, has a daughter who attends the school and crosses the intersection every day.

“It’s dangerous, and we need to take care of not just our kids,” Lamoureux said. “There are old people in Montreal West. Heck, I’m 59 years old. I get scared crossing the street.”

A Royal West student was hit at the intersection in October 2024. In February 2026, two more students — ages 12 and 13 — were hit and taken to hospital with minor injuries.

Montreal West parents rejoice as students get crossing guard at busy intersection

The incidents led to parents speaking up.

Eventually, they succeeded in getting a crossing guard assigned to the intersection from April until the end of the last school year. Parents knew the arrangement was temporary.

The plan was for Montreal West to improve visibility and reduce the amount of traffic crossing in front of pedestrians at the intersection by reducing the roadway from four lanes to two and eliminating two left-turn lanes.

Those changes were delayed because they were connected to work at the nearby railway crossing. Canadian Pacific Kansas City signal workers were on strike for most of the summer, meaning the planned work could not go ahead.

Joanna Duy, a member of Royal West’s Parent Participation Safety Subcommittee, said parents now want the crossing guard reinstated until the road changes are completed and their impact can be assessed.

“We’re asking for another temporary crossing guard until this work can actually be completed and until we have a good sense that it’s actually going to be safe for the students,” Duy said.

But some parents are taking it a step further: they want the crossing guard to be there permanently — even after the redesign.

Lamoureux says the intersection is unusually challenging because of heavy rush-hour traffic and its proximity to the railway crossing, where trains can cause congestion and frustration among drivers.

He also argues that the responsibility should not fall on the school or its parents to provide their own crossing guard.

“We’re a public school,” he said. “We really feel this is a public responsibility.”

Montreal West Mayor Jonathan Cha says the work is expected to begin by the end of September or early October.

But he acknowledges there could be a period of adjustment once the new configuration is in place.

“I think we need a period of adaptation to make sure that everyone is safe,” he said.

Parents say that transition is precisely why they want a crossing guard back.

Their request goes against a longstanding rule that generally limits crossing guards to streets near elementary schools. The Royal West community has argued that the safety of an intersection should matter more than the age of the students using it.

Aatefeh Padidar is a journalist with CBC News based in Montreal. You can reach her at aatefeh.padidar@cbc.ca