School zone light gone in a flash

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This article was published 09/02/2020 (1684 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A day after local electrician Chuck Lewis installed a flashing amber beacon in a Winnipeg school zone, the light was removed – by Lewis himself.

He installed the solar-powered device on a pole on Bedson Street on Thursday, near Winnipeg Mennonite Elementary, in an effort to pressure city hall to green-light his plan to donate lights to school zones across the city, paying for the lights and installation from his own pocket.

Lewis took down his initial light after a city official contacted him to say an official agreement could be ironed out as soon as this week.

Lewis, the general manager of Expert Electric, said he realized it was in his best interest to remove the light, which was only installed as a demonstration. The light was mounted five feet off the ground instead of its proper position atop the pole.

“I didn’t think (the city) would be the one taking it down,” he said. “I knew going in (it would be me).”

The Free Press is waiting for the city to confirm an agreement might soon be reached.

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Lewis has been trying to get the lights put up through official channels since 2017 but keeps running into bureaucratic roadblocks. Last fall, the city agreed to test the beacons, but afterward, the bright idea reached yet another impasse.

That led Lewis to take matters into his own hands.

Once the light was put up, a city spokesperson told the Free Press there were no “immediate plans” to remove the light and the city was “confident” an agreement would be finalized this spring to begin installation.

Thanks to Lewis’ stunt, it appears that agreement could come sooner rather than later.

“Time will tell,” he said.

If an agreement is inked, Lewis said he intends to schedule for installation a set of lights in a different school zone every month while implementing a street-safety program in the schools affected.

He said he wants to make sure kids understand safe crossing even with the lights there to discourage school zone speedsters.

“Hopefully, we can work together and make school zones safer for everyone,” he said.

ben.waldman@freepress.mb.ca

Ben Waldman
Reporter

Ben Waldman covers a little bit of everything for the Free Press.

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