Painted crosswalks are legal

No rules as to what can be painted between the white lines

Acrosswalk is a crosswalk no matter what colour it’s painted between the lines.

On Thursday, Lethbridge became the first city in the world to paint a transgender flag crosswalk on a city street. The blue, pink and white temporary crosswalk, along with one rainbow LGBTQ+ crosswalk, were painted at the intersections of 3 Avenue and 6 Street South.

There has been some discussion within the community and comments posted on social media surrounding the legality and safety of these crosswalks.

According to Alberta Transportation’s Pavement Marking Guide, a marked crosswalk must have two solid white lines marking both edges of the crosswalk. There are some guidelines as to the width these lines must be apart, however, there are no rules as to what must be between them.

The guide further addresses that longitudinal lines may be added to create a “zebra crosswalk” for increased visibility, and are recommended for areas where children or seniors cross or in high-speed traffic zones.

However, every intersection by law is considered a crosswalk, whether or not they are marked, noted Ahmed Ali, the City of Lethbridge’s Transportation manager. And pedestrians do have the right of way.

“Wherever two streets meet, that’s defined as an intersection,” he said. “And at those intersections, whether or not even a sidewalk exists, pedestrians have the priority to cross. That’s the statute under the Alberta Traffic Safety Act.”

At these two particular intersections where the flags are painted, they have traffic light controls in addition to the crosswalks, which provide added safety measures.

“There are three things which make it legal,” said Ali. “Number one, every intersection, whether marked or unmarked, with a traffic control is a legal crosswalk. Number two, it’s controlled by a traffic light for pedestrians, and number three the white lines.”

Crosswalk lines aren’t painted at every intersection because it would drive up the city’s operating budget, Ali explained. However they do mark crosswalks based on need for increased safety in a particular area, whether they paint lines, add a flashing light, a sign or a traffic light.

“They are based on several factors like traffic volumes, crossing pedestrian volumes, safety, the sight lines, and many technical things,” said Ali. “So many local roads we don’t have any controls.”

Ali cautioned that although pedestrians have priority to cross at all intersections, they need to be aware and make eye contact with motorists when crossing the road.

“They have to make sure they are safe. The responsibility of safety lies with everyone.”

There have been two pedestrian fatalities after collisions with vehicles in the past two weeks. In both instances, police said the pedestrian had been intoxicated.

The first occurred at the intersection of 12 Avenue and Mayor Magrath Drive South on May 29. A man was hit while crossing on a Do Not Walk signal by an SUV travelling through a green light.

The most recent accident occurred in the middle eastbound lane of Whoop-Up Drive, and not at an intersection. A 39-year-old woman was hit by a minivan early Thursday morning.