Shediac students pitch pedestrian-only street this summer
Tyson Barlow, Owen Urciuoli and Brendon Chase were excited when their social studies teacher gave them their final assignment of the school year — come up with an innovative idea to make their community more sustainable.
The Grade 8 students knew right away they wanted to tackle the tourist town's huge increase in traffic every summer.
Their proposal is to make Shediac's Main Street car free.
The Shediac Cape students sent off a letter to town officials, suggesting a kilometre-long, pedestrian-only zone from the town's iconic big lobster at one end of Main Street to the Weldon Street intersection.
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Their pitch to the town of Shediac includes a bicycle-rental service for the summer months, complete with helmet rentals and GPS trackers.
"As the population of the town grows, the traffic is getting a lot worse and there is not really too much you can do about that so we came up with this," said Owen.
"We broke down absolutely everything ... how much it would cost them, bare minimum and maximum, we averaged that out, and in the end they are making a profit," he said of the opportunity for the town.
Owen and his partners suggest bicycles be rented at a cost of $15 per day with a discount for anyone renting two or more.
Tyson has shared the idea with friends and family and said they think "it is a really eco-friendly way" to make the town better.
"We have a lot of information for [town officials]. It is very simple," said Brendon. "We have tables for them, it is easy to understand. I think they would consider it."
Students pitch ideas to town officials
Teacher Megan Seipp said the project is based on sustainable development goals laid out by the United Nations, which include 17 ways to improve life around the globe.
Seipp said Tyson, Owen and Brendon quickly focused their work on goal 11, which aims to make the town of Shediac a better place to live and to visit.
Middle school teacher Megan Seipp says her students came up with lots of great ideas to make Shediac more sustainable. Their projects ranged from pedestrian-only streets, to adding sidewalks and building a community centre with basketball courts. (Rhythm Rathi/CBC)
"I thought it was fantastic," Seipp said of their idea to make Main Street pedestrian-only for the summer. "It's very encouraging as a teacher to see … how they are developing and how excited they get."
Other groups in the class have suggested adding sidewalks to areas outside of Shediac, youth-friendly facilities such as a basketball court or YMCA in town, and food drives to help alleviate poverty.
Seipp said one of the most rewarding parts of the project comes when students receive a response.
Shediac Mayor Roger Caissie wrote to Tyson, Owen and Brendon and said it was "a real breath of fresh air" to see the students aspiring to make a change in their community.
While Caissie didn't provide an official decision on their pitch for a pedestrian-only street this summer, his letter did bring smiles from students in the classroom.
"It's just the fact that people are listening to them as students, as young people, and taking their initiative seriously," said Seipp.
Shediac Mayor Roger Caissie said it was 'a real breath of fresh air' to see middle school students aspiring to make a change in their community. (Rhythm Rathi/CBC)
The students are making their final presentations and will receive their final marks this month. All say they think they deserve a perfect four out of four on their report cards.
"I think we don't have to worry about that," Seipp said with a laugh. "They'll definitely be getting a good grade from all the staff."
