Teen’s tragedy fuels crosswalk talk

Incident in Meadows has council considering short-term solutions

A vibrant coloured crosswalk — painted by schoolchildren with creative designs — might be one trick to enhance safety at Edmonton’s trouble crosswalks, said Coun. Aaron Paquette in the wake of another serious injury this week.

A 15-year-old girl suffered severe head trauma Tuesday evening after a driver failed to stop at a marked crosswalk in The Meadows area of Edmonton.

The crosswalk was on the list for eventual signal upgrades.

But more can be done right now, said Paquette, calling news of this most recent tragedy “heavy.”

“We’re all in this together,” he said, pitching an idea that came up recently from Child Friendly Edmonton.

Many dangerous crosswalks are near schools and day homes.

Why not stop the traffic for an afternoon to help the children repaint the roadway, using bright colours to really make that spot stand out?

Intuitively, drivers would see something different and slow down, he said, echoing a school of thought that says less predictable roads are actually safer.

DRIVERS PAY ATTENTION

Plus, it would be a safety moment to teach kids, Paquette said, and could be tested to see if it helps.

Many city councillors are struggling with the crosswalk question, shocked by the list of 659 crosswalks the city says need signal upgrades and the 29 years it would currently take to accomplish that.

They ’ll consider a funding package this fall that could shrink the timeline to roughly 10 years.

But with nine pedestrian deaths in 2017 alone, that doesn’t seem good enough.

EVEN A PAINTED LINE

Edmonton has already proven a simple painted line — in one case a failed bike lane — can make a difference, said Coun. Andrew Knack.

In spring 2012, city officials measured speeds along 189 Street between 87 and 95 avenues and found 15 per cent of the drivers were going 62 kilometres per hour, higher than the 50 km/ h limit.

Then the city painted bike lanes. They got very little use by cyclists, but narrowed the two driving lanes and gave the perception of less space. When city officials measured speed again, they found the fastest 15 per cent were now going 55 km/ h or more.

“Just that alone changed the speed,” said Knack.

Speeds went up again after the bike lanes were removed, but the concept could be a solution for crosswalks.

Edmonton has many wide suburban roads with few crosswalks between neighbourhoods, similar to where the girl was hit this week at 38 Avenue and 31 Street. Narrow the lanes for drivers as they approach the crosswalk and the natural impulse will be to slow down.

If a collision still happens, at least the injury will be less severe.

“Is that something we could do in a very simple, cost effective way? It’s an idea,” Knack said, hoping to see Edmonton try these low-cost, interim solutions soon. “(Traffic safety officials) shouldn’t need us to give direction. They should try out some of these things even if it might not be perfect.”

A NOTE OF CAUTION

Others are leery about experimentation. What’s used on the street must be easily understood by drivers, warned Coun. Tim Cartmell. He favours simply installing more flashing lights quickly, making that the default safety measure for all crosswalks.

That flashing light is a signal to drivers that someone is there, he said, versus paint, which doesn’t change.

“When something is static it becomes part of the landscape.”

Gerry Shimko, head of Edmonton’s traffic safety team, said his staff is already at capacity trying to prioritize crossing locations with the highest risk, research next steps and present a detailed plan to city council — first to scale up its investment in traffic signals this fall, then do a full crosswalk safety plan including alternative solutions in spring 2019.

But if a school came forward now, it’s possible they could do a pilot project with colourful paint, Shimko said. He would want to make sure children were protected during the work and that the roadway paint improved safety.

“We’re not saying no, not ever,” he said.

There are other ideas, many tried in other cities. Residents have been sharing pictures of raised crosswalks on social media and pictures of specially-painted 3-D crosswalks. They give the illusion of being raised to slow traffic.

GIVE OWNERSHIP

Edmonton could also try brightly-coloured bumps on the roadway before a crosswalk, similar to a rumble strip, said Paquette. That would give drivers a second cue — one that makes sound and can be felt — that it’s a sensitive location.

Yellow flexible bollards, like those used on Jasper Avenue last summer, could be tested as a way to narrow driving lanes as an alternative to paint, he said, encouraging residents with other ideas to email their councillor.

“Taking decades to do this is unacceptable. Everyone is human. We all make mistakes. We should be building that into our design,” Paquette said.

Even pylons or potted flowers could be used to try out narrowed lanes, said Anna Ho, executive director of the community group Paths for People, “so it’s kind of cute, whimsical.”

Her group would love to partner with the city and help out this summer. Getting neighbourhood groups and schools involved with paint will give ownership over safety back to the community and build that cultural change.