School is almost out, summer heat is setting in and the children of a small Quebec town southwest of Montreal will soon be able to spend their days shooting hoops in the street — if they have filed the necessary paperwork. Last week, the municipality of Les Cèdres published a reminder to residents of a bylaw passed last September that authorizes free play zones on residential streets as long as children acquire the signatures of at least two-thirds of households on the street. “By applying for a free play zone, you increase the level of safety for the youth in your neighbourhood and allow them to play legally on the street,” the message reads.
Isabelle Laberge works at the town’s primary school and her 11-year-old son sometimes plays in the street with his friends. She thinks most residents of the town about 45 kilometres outside of Montreal were unaware of the bylaw, and the way the municipality communicated the change caused confusion among residents who feared playing in front of their homes had been outlawed. Story continues below advertisement “I find it a little bit exaggerated, but at the same time I understand the security concerns because there’s a recurring issue in Les Cèdres with people driving fast, not making their stops, though I’m not sure this will really help either,” she said in an interview Wednesday.
Picking up her daughter from the same school, Amélie Rhéaume said she doesn’t allow her kids to play on their street, one of the mo.
