Parents at Royal West Academy are once again pushing for a permanent crossing guard to be assigned at a busy Montreal West intersection where students have been struck by vehicles, saying a temporary measure earlier this year made a dramatic difference in how safe students felt.
The crossing guard was stationed at Westminster Avenue and Ainslie Road from April until the end of the 2025-2026 school year following years of pressure from parents.
“We feel like there haven’t been many gains. We’re very, very frustrated,” said Joanna Duy, chairperson of the Royal West Academy Parent Participation Safety Subcommittee.
The intersection has been a safety concern since a Royal West student was struck by a car in 2024. Another student was hit in February 2026 and taken to hospital with minor injuries.
Parents subsequently launched a campaign for stronger safety measures, including a petition that collected nearly 3,500 signatures and was presented to Quebec’s National Assembly in February.
A survey conducted by parents consisting of 210 Royal West students found that only 8.6 per cent said they felt “very safe” crossing the intersection when there was no crossing guard.
That figure jumped to 71.4 per cent while the crossing guard was in place — an increase of roughly 730 per cent.
The survey also found a sharp drop in students who felt “somewhat unsafe” or “very unsafe,” from 50 per cent without a crossing guard to just two per cent with one.
“Overwhelmingly, (students) said that their feelings of safety about intersection had improved,” Duy said.
The parent’s committee is now planning another campaign to have the guard reinstated for the coming year. Parents have contacted elected officials in the more than 20 municipalities and West Island communities represented by Royal West students and plan to raise the issue again at an agglomeration council meeting later this month
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Parents were initially told provincial guidelines only allowed crossing guards to be assigned near schools with children between five and 12 years old. Older children, including the high school students of Royal West, were considered “adult pedestrians.” The SPVM previously cited those guidelines when explaining why the intersection did not qualify.
But the Quebec Transport Ministry has since clarified that the rules contained within the province’s Guide d’organisation d’une brigade scolaire adulte are guidelines, rather than a hard-and-fast prohibition.
In a March 27 letter, ministry director general Youssef Dehbi wrote that municipalities have the authority to decide whether to use an adult crossing guard, including near a secondary school.
“The guide constitutes above all a decision-making tool,” the letter says.
The ministry is also reviewing the guide, with a new version expected in 2027. The concerns raised by parents are expected to be considered as part of that review.
In a separate letter responding to the petition presented by Notre-Dame-de-Grâce MNA Désirée McGraw, Transport Minister Jonatan Julien likewise said the current guide is under review and that the issues raised in the petition would be considered.
However, parents say that clarification has not solved the problem.
Duy said the SPVM told them in an April meeting that it does not assign permanent crossing guards to high schools due to limited capacity.
“Understandably they’re saying that they don’t have the resources, that if they open this up across the island of Montreal, they’re going to have many, many high schools requesting them,” she said.
Duy nevertheless said that the obstacle is “frustrating” after parents were told by the province that assigning a guard was, in fact, allowed.
The SPVM did not respond in time for deadline when reached by CityNews.
McGraw argues Royal West is an exceptional case because the risks have already materialized.
“The threat hasn’t gone away,” the MNA said in an interview with CityNews. “There are certain circumstances like at Royal West, particular circumstances where there are real security risks.”
She said Royal West is located near Highway 20 and one of the busiest railway crossings in the country, and that students from across the Montreal area attend the school.
“If it creates a precedent, a positive precedent for other schools, high schools that are at risk in our province, that’s in my mind a good thing,” McGraw said.
The Town of Montreal West says it supports having a crossing guard but does not control the SPVM’s deployment decisions.
Mayor Jonathan Cha said the town contributes financially to Montreal’s police services and is asking the city to reconsider its position.
In the meantime, the municipality plans to reduce the roadway from four lanes to two, with the goal of improving visibility for drivers and giving pedestrians more space to cross. The work is expected to begin in late August or September.
“We’re hoping that this measure and this investment from the town of Montreal West will improve the security of everyone,” Cha said.
Cha said a traffic light has been considered in the past but is not feasible because of the intersection’s proximity to the railway tracks.
He acknowledged that the best-case scenario would be to have the crossing guard in addition to the new infrastructure.
“The best would have to have a crossing guard on top of it,” Cha said.
For parents, however, the changes are not enough to end the campaign.
They plan to continue pushing municipal and police officials for a crossing guard when students return to school.
Duy said the group wants the crossing guard reinstated while the new intersection design is tested, particularly because parents worry that narrowing the roadway could frustrate drivers and make them less likely to stop for students.
“We’ve just been advocating tirelessly, it seems like, on this issue,” she said. “We almost feel like it’s a step back now.”
