A new RCMP officer in St. Paul is hoping to make the streets a little safer for children who have hearing issues by seeing the installation of signs in neighbourhoods where motorists need to be extra mindful.
Cst. Keaton Harding has been in St. Paul for about six months. Part of being a new officer, Harding is required to complete a community project that sees him identify an issue within the community he’s serving. Through patrolling the town, he has come across two children with hearing issues.
In the first case, the young child could be seen playing very close to traffic. Harding said he spoke to the child’s mother about installing signage in the area to warn motorists, but the family has since moved away.
Then, Harding came across another family with a two-year-old daughter that has recently been diagnosed as being profoundly deaf. The family lives in the Lakeshore area, along a street that sees quite a bit of traffic.
“When I saw a police car out my front door I thought it must be the wrong house,” admits Breana Malcolmson, when speaking about how the project came about, following last week’s council meeting. Malcolmson is the mother of two-year-old Kaybre, who was recently diagnosed as being “profoundly deaf.”
Harding met with the family to discuss his initiative. The officer believes the installation of signs in the family’s neighbourhood would give motorists a quick reminder that they need to be watchful in that specific area.
“When (Harding) explained why he was there, I was really touched as a parent that something so trivial had become somewhat of a community issue,” said Malcolmson. “Kaybre is profoundly deaf, and we feel that the more awareness we can bring to it the better. We want to make sure she is safe when she is outside playing, and may not focus on what she is hearing.”
And that is exactly what Harding is hoping to accomplish.
“We hope to raise awareness . . . to caution drivers, to draw their attention,” said Harding, as he spoke to the Town of St. Paul council, Tuesday night.
As she grows, the issues around Kaybre’s safety will also grow, for example when she begins to play at the park more independently.
“The goal of this is to grab (motorists’) attention for a quick second,” said Harding.
Following Harding’s presentation, Coun. Ron Boisvert said he thought the signs were a great idea, and recalled another area in town having similar signs installed, a number of years ago. Those signs were then removed when the family moved away.
Kotowich also spoke to the issue, saying he had already ordered two signs since the issue also came through the protective services department, but he would like to see council order up to four more signs, to be installed along Lakeshore Drive, near the parks.
“It was made clear that there is a potentially serious problem that needs to be addressed immediately,” reads Harding’s proposal to the town.
Harding explained the road the family lives on is a winding road, and in the winter he’s noticed people cut the corner very close to some of the homes, which includes the house the young girl lives in.
He noted that the house is also near the St. Paul Abilities Network building, and believes the signs could be beneficial not only to deaf children, but for people with other disabilities.
Mayor Maureen Miller, who also supported the project, noted that once the public is aware that signs are available, there might be more families who come forward to request them.
Council approved a motion to purchase an additional four signs, and commended Harding for the initiative he had taken.
