Photo: Daily Herald File Photo A Prince Albert Transit bus travels along Central Avenue.
By Michael Oleksyn
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Prince Albert Daily Herald
Students are back in class on Wednesday, and the City of Prince Albert will provide a free day of transit to help them get there.
Students won’t be the only beneficiaries though. The City has declared Wednesday as a free day of transit for everyone in Prince Albert, although students are the main focus.
All public transit will be free on Wednesday, including Access Transit for those who qualify.
Monthly bus passes are available for high school students at Carlton Comprehensive High School, Ecole St. Mary High School, Wesmor, and Prince Albert Collegiate Institute (PACI).
The City also held a Free Transit Day last year. Charlene Tebbutt, Community Mobility Coordinator for the City of Prince Albert said they want people to learn more about the transit system, and hopefully use it as a regular option.
“It’s a way to encourage people to try transit,” she said. “It’s a great way to get to school and work or any activities.
“There’s transit routes that are available throughout the city from many different locations and they’ll get you to your high school or your post-secondary school relatively close to where the school is and quickly. You save a little bit of money as well, so we’re just trying to encourage people to give it a try.”
The City also has partnerships with both the Saskatchewan Rivers School Division and Prince Albert Catholic School Division around bus passes.
“The school divisions and the high schools, they’ve been really great at selling bus passes and assisting students to learn about the opportunities there with bus passes,” Tebbutt said. “It’s been a really good partnership for sure and there are a lot of students, both high school and post-secondary who use transit.”
Students attending Saskatchewan Polytechnic can also purchase a bus pass on site at their school’s technical building. Post-secondary students must present photo ID and proof of enrollment in an accredited school to qualify for a post-secondary or semester bus pass.
Tebbutt pointed to other post-secondary institutions in Prince Albert such as the Gabriel Dumont Institute, First Nations University and University of Saskatchewan Prince Albert.
“The buses meet in a convenient spot at the transfer station (and) they go out to different locations around the city and different neighbourhood areas, so you can get downtown, (and) you can get to your school,” Tebbutt said.
Tebbutt encourage people to use transit regularly and not just on a free transit day. She said the routes are relatively fast around Prince Albert. All routes are on a 30 minute loop.
“It’s economical and it’s great for the environment too,” Tebbutt said. “When people can use public transit, it helps reduce emissions.
The City has introduced mobile payment options for all City-owned parking lots, including downtown and at Saskatchewan Polytechnic. Park and pay using the PaybyPhone app and extend your time as needed online.
“It’s an important way for students to park now,” Tebbutt explained. “It’s another option. They can still come in and get their hard copy parking pass if they wish, but they can also use the app to pay online and then extend their parking too.
“If they’re in a class, for instance, or in a lab and they find it’s going longer than they had planned, then they can extend their time on the app,” she added
For step-by-step instructions and more details, visit the City of Prince Albert website.
Current payment options, including coins or meter cards, and the purchase of hard-copy permits in person at City Hall, are still available.
Police urge drivers to be careful as school zones get busy
The City and Prince Albert Police Service each reminded residents to be safe with children returning to school on Wednesday
The City reminded drivers to obey the 30 km/h school zone speed limit, avoid U-turns in school zones, watch for pedestrians and stop at marked crosswalks and do not stop in no-parking or no-stopping zones, which are in place to maintain safe sightlines.
“The start of a new school year should come with an awareness of increased pedestrian and vehicle traffic in specific school zones,” Chief Patrick Nogier said in a press release.
The Prince Albert Police Service sent out a reminder on Aug 31 that they will be visible around schools keeping our roads safe as students return to the classroom.
“Our officers will be visible and will enforce traffic laws as we work to keep our students, pedestrians, and other road users safe. We are reminding drivers to slow down and observe the 30 km/h speed limit in school zones, obey traffic signs, watch for children and pedestrians,
and avoid distractions while driving. Keeping our children safe is a shared responsibility, and we all have a role to play in ensuring everyone’s safety.” Nogier added.
Police are reminding the public that school zones will be back in effect starting Sept. 2, meaning drivers should not exceed 30 kilometres an hour between the hours of 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Prince Albert Police advise citizens to follow school zone speed limits, stay alert when driving around school zones and residential areas, don’t drive distracted and watch for children crossing the road.