Posts Tagged ‘pedestrian safety’
Photo: Heang Uy (flickr: heanguy)
If you are a habitual jaywalker, this morning may not be a good day to do it. Calgary Police and Calgary Transit officers will be out in full force starting at 6:30am targetting pedestrians who jaywalk. The goal of the blitz is to increase awareness of the dangers that jaywalking poses.
Police departments from all across Canada have been focusing on pedestrian safety after a rash of pedestrian deaths in Toronto and one just last month in Calgary. In all of these cases, the pedestrians were crossing the street at an unsafe spot.
“It’s a concern to us and that’s why we’ve decided to take this initiative,” he said, adding the idea that drivers are always to blame in pedestrian-vehicle crashes is simply untrue.
“Anybody who uses the road has a responsibility to make sure they’re using the road properly, safely and lawfully.” - Const. Peter Adria, Calgary Police Service
The safety blitz is expected to run through to the end of the morning rush hour and if the past is any indication, the City of Calgary will be getting a nice injection of revenue after this is all said and done. Last summer during a crackdown on pedestrians on 8th street and 7th avenue, officers were kept busy issuing warnings and tickets.
Toronto has opened their first scramble pedestrian crossing at the corner of Yonge and Dundas today. These scramble pedestrian crossings are also known as pedestrian criss-crossings, or intersections with a pedestrian priority phase. Calgary began testing this type of intersection earlier this summer near the Eau Claire market area in two intersections and it looks like the project is doing quite well now that drivers and pedestrian alike are getting used to the system.
While the intersection that Toronto chose is pedestrian heavy, it is not an optimal intersection to locate a scramble crossing if the goal is to improve pedestrian safety. Vehicles are already prohibited from turning at the intersection so adding the pedestrian priority phase to allow diagonal crossing will not result in fewer car-pedestrian accidents. The net effect will be longer red lights for drivers to accomodate the extra pedetrian crossing phase.
In Calgary, smoother vehicle and pedestrian flows were the result when the two scramble intersections opened because vehicles were able to turn as soon as their light went green because pedestrians were not permitted to cross until the walk sign came on. Pedestrian safety was improved because during the pedestrian priority phase of the signals, all vehicles are stopped allowing pedestrians to cross in all directions in a much safer environment.
Mr. Mende, the city’s director of traffic infrastructure management, acknowledged that launching the concept here was “symbolic,” although important since the area has lots of foot traffic.
An amendment to the plan moved by Mr. Rae and passed by city council added Yonge and Dundas to the list of intersections originally drawn up by city traffic engineers.
Wow, thats smart. Let’s launch a scramble intersection just to say we have one. The only good news is that Toronto plans on launching scramble intersections at other pedestrian heavy intersections such as Yonge and Bloor Streets, Bay Street and Bloor Street West, and Bay and Dundas. This first intersection cost taxpayers $60,000 in new signals, line painting and curb and sidewalk modifications.
Source: The Globe and Mail
I walked part of the way to work this morning and found myself facing a young woman across a busy intersection while we waited for the traffic signal to change. She was facing me but keeping an eye on the van waiting beside her at the red light signalling a right turn. As I watched the situation unfold I was impressed with this woman’s street smarts.
When the light changed to green for the van and to walk for her, she stood her ground instead of stepping into the crosswalk. It’s a good thing because the van driver had one hand on the steering wheel, one hand on his cell phone and likely both eyes on the traffic light. She may as well have been invisible.
As soon as the light changed the driver accelerated and turned right without even bothering to shoulder check. Even that should not have mattered had he scanned his environment and considered his situation while he waited. He would have realized that he needed to wait for the pedestrian to cross before he made his turn.
Unlike crosswalks that are not controlled by traffic signals there is no need for the pedestrian to step into the crosswalk before traffic is required to yield. When the walk light comes on, vehicular traffic is required to yield to pedestrians who will use the crosswalk as they have the right of way.
We shook our heads as we passed by each other and she rolled her eyes when I asked what had happened to the requirement to yield to pedestrians. My second thought is that this van was boldly marked with the name of the business it was associated with. This is the kind of advertising that a business would not want!
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A man I observed in a parking lot this evening started me thinking about how little care we sometimes take when we are pedestrians. I was preparing to back out of my parking spot and had put my truck in reverse, then did a scan to the rear before I started letting up on the clutch. A male crossing behind me did not slow or even bother to look to see what my intentions were. Perhaps he didn’t even think to notice that my truck was idling and the backup lights were on.
The most recent collision statistics published by the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia are for the year 2005. During that year 1,857 pedestrians were injured and 68 died in collisions. One might guess that children would be the most likely victims due to being impulsive and inexperienced. This is not the case as the majority of fatalities involved pedestrians over the age of 50. Older pedestrians were also in the majority when the injured were counted as well.
Why is this happening? Contributing factors on the pedestrian side included making an error or being confused, being under the influence of alcohol and failing to yield the right of way. On the driver’s side it was being inattentive, failing to yield the right of way and making an error or being confused.
I walked part way to work this morning and encountered a woman leaving a driveway I was about to cross. She noticed that I had checked my stride and was making eye contact before I moved into her path. She must not be used to this as she called to me and told me that I didn’t need to worry, I could cross and she wouldn’t hit me. I appreciated the communication and was confident that I could pass in front of her safely.
The underlying idea here is that a pedestrian has to take responsibility for their safety, even if it means giving up your right of way to an inconsiderate or inattentive driver. Keep your head up, make eye contact and never move from a place of safety unless you are absolutely certain the drivers have seen you and present no threat of collision. You may also wish to consider not using items that draw your attention elsewhere such as music players and cell phones when you are walking on a highway.
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