Winnipeg man installs flashing lights in Westwood school zone to 'save some lives'

A Winnipeg man is taking the phrase "do it yourself" to heart.

Chuck Lewis, the general manager of Expert Electric, installed flashing solar-powered lights in a Westwood school zone Wednesday night under the cover of darkness — five years after he offered his services to the City of Winnipeg to add lights in all of the city's school zones. 

The lights, which are on Bedson Street near Winnipeg Mennonite Elementary School, are meant to warn drivers they're approaching a 30 km/h school zone.

"We did a test run this morning, and every car that's seen them automatically slammed on their brakes as soon as they hit those beacons," Lewis said.

"Anything we can do to make school zones safer, it just makes sense."

Safety lights in school zones are personal to Chuck Lewis, see why:

Passionate about safety lights

5 years ago

Duration 1:49

This man is pushing the city to install safety lights in school zones by taking matters into his own hands.

Lewis' motivation to donate his own time and money was safety for children.

"If it's my kid or your kid or if it's any kid, what's the cost of a kid's life?"

Lewis said he offered to install the programmable lights, which cost $7,000 each, for the City of Winnipeg five years ago, but wasn't taken up on his offer.

"It's costing the city nothing. We're supplying those beacons for free at a cost of $7,000 per school. We're maintaining them for free, and with all the cuts the city is doing, it makes no sense at all they don't step over the plate," he said.

However, since the lights have been installed, the city has responded.

City now testing units, working on agreement

A spokesperson from the City of Winnipeg said in an email statement sent on Thursday afternoon that they are aware of the installation, they are working to come to an agreement and hope it will be finalized by spring. 

"In the meantime, we've been testing one of these units at a City facility to review their reliability, as we do not generally rely on solar-powered units for such equipment," they said.

The city says it doesn't have immediate plans to remove the lights at this point, but may move them and modify them to conform to industry standards like correct height and type of pole.

Once the agreement is finalized with Expert Electric, the city will decide how to roll out the plan.

Kevin Klein, the city councillor for Charleswood-Tuxedo-Westwood, had harsh words about the situation Lewis has faced.

"I think this is a result of weak leadership and an abundance of red tape," he said.

"This will save some lives.… There's no reason it's taking this long."

Lawrence Hamm, the superintendent and CEO of Winnipeg Mennonite Elementary and Middle Schools said he's had only positive feedback from parents, staff and bus drivers since the lights started flashing.

He believes it's a positive move on the part of Lewis.

"We've had some close calls here in front of our school over the years — I've seen some of them myself," Hamm told CBC News.

"If we're drawing attention to the fact that, hey, there are kids around here, I think it's a good thing."

Hamm says he knows the lights were installed without city approval, and if they're removed, he'd volunteer to pilot an above-board city project.

"If and when this happens that they approve something like this, I'll put my hand up to be the first set of schools that gets them installed in front of their schools, that's for sure," he said.

Todd Dube from Wise Up Winnipeg believes the reason the city hadn't accepted the offer previously is because of the money made from speeding tickets.

"They're ticket killers. The tickets will drop here dramatically and immediately," he said.