Tragic fatalities on Lake Country roads in the past two years are spurring members of the Lake Country Rotary Club to raise safety awareness while walking along roads without and without sidewalks.
After a successful program of distributing 1,000 reflective armbands to schools last year, the LC Rotary has expanded the program to include the entire community this year.
The Club was presented with the opportunity to obtain 8000 pairs of reflective arm bands and LC Rotary has joined with the District of Lake Country, the RCMP, School District 23, and the Lake Country Chamber of Commerce to effectively distribute the safety enhancing devices.
Gordon Lugrin president of the Lake Country Rotary Club and says the program is about education too, “Visibility is key when people are out walking. We need drivers and pedestrians to be more aware.”
To help people understand the risks the distribution program is paired with a speaker’s bureau which will send experts to schools, senior’s centers and community events to talk to people about walking with traffic and reminding drivers to share the road. The program has engaged local Lake Country resident Erik Madsen to create a short film about the issue. Madsen won a province wide video competition about teenage drinking and driving this week.
The reflective arm bands will be distributed to Lake Country schools and senior’s centers. Beginning in mid-February volunteers will be at local business with arm bands and donation boxes for members of the public to pick up their own set of arm bands. RCMP and Citizen’s Patrol will also have supply of arm bands to hand out when the opportunity arises. The cost of the arm bands has been completely covered by the Lake Country Rotary Club.