Teen’s death shows need for proper crosswalk technology
Chloe Wiwchar was 16 on the Sunday night she died, struck by a pickup truck in a marked crosswalk near her home.
Like many teens, she’d documented her life on Facebook and Instagram.
That digital diary tells us that she was beautiful. And funny. On Facebook, she described herself as a born-again Christian. She called herself “Hennessy in a teacup” — soft on the outside but strong on the inside — a line from Instagram poet r.h. Sin.
“You wonder what your purpose in this world is,” she posted last October. “Would you matter if you died because there is over a billion people on this planet?”
But that same post ended with a powerful message of hope.
“Don’t give in. Don’t give up. Keep fighting because I guarantee you and promise if you keep fighting and work to beat this battle you will come out 10000x stronger and wiser then you ever will be.”
All that courage, all that passion — extinguished.
Based on surveillance video, and on the degree of damage to the truck, police believe the vehicle that struck Chloe was speeding.
They have charged Shane Stevenson, 47, with impaired driving causing death, driving with a blood-alcohol level over 80 mg causing death and hit-andrun causing death. Stevenson, a law partner at Dentons, has been suspended by the firm. He’s been released from custody on $50,000 bail.
Crossing Kingsway at Tower Road is treacherous: pedestrians must clear seven lanes of traffic. The speed limit is 60 km/ h, but drivers often go much faster.
Between 2013 and 2017, there were two serious pedestrian injuries at that crosswalk. Last year, the city’s transportation department ranked it third on a list of 70 crossing points that required safety upgrades.
In August, the city installed a set of Rectangular Rapid Flashing Beacons (RRFBs). Such beacons are relatively new to Edmonton; the city started using them 2015. The solarpowered LED devices are far cheaper than traditional amber flashing lights.
It costs just $20,000 to install RRFBs, versus $100,000 for the usual amber flashing lights, or $150,000 for conventional traffic lights.
But there are conflicting studies on how well they work. Tests in Oregon and Calgary showed them highly effective in getting drivers to yield. But Michigan researched found they confused drivers. A Texas study found in some cases, only 19 per cent of drivers yielded for them.
In December, the U.S. Department of Transportation banned the beacons over concerns rival patents and manufacturers made it hard to evaluate which models worked best. Last month, the department announced it would grant exemptions on a case-bycase basis. But the beacons are only to be used for pedestrian “conspicuity enhancement” — not traffic control.
So, how should Edmonton be using them?
In a report last June, city auditor David Wiun raised questions about the way the city was deploying the RRFB technology.
“We believe that the city should document the justifications for using new technologies, and approve the draft guidelines for Rapid Flashing Beacons as to when and where to use them,” Wiun wrote.
The city has almost completed those guidelines. But they’re still not finalized.
Marie- Soleil Clouthier, a professor of urban studies and a traffic safety researcher, is also the director of the Laboratoire Pietons et espace urbain at Montreal’s Institut National de la recherche scientifique. She says the beacons were never designed for a site like this.
“The problem is not the beacon. The problem is that it’s seven lanes,” she said.
“I wouldn’t condemn the light. Whether they work or not depends where you put them. But the RRFB is not going to make a difference if you’re trying to cross seven lanes of traffic (that’s) going 60 km/h. The real problem is how this street is made for cars and not for any other kind of road users.”
I in no way wish to minimize the wrongdoing of the driver who struck Chloe, whomever the courts may establish that to have been. But the serious charges in this case only underscore that this particular light is the wrong technology in the wrong place.
Gary Dyck, who speaks for the city’s traffic safety division, says the beacons on Kingsway were always meant to be a temporary, interim measure.
“Once we receive the police report, we will do a detailed safety review at this location as part of out fatality and major injury review program to determine what additional measures could be implemented to improve pedestrian safety,” Dyck told me via email.
But I fear these beacons could give pedestrians a false sense of security. Installing them as a stop-gap may make financial sense. But if they don’t stop cars, they’re little better than decorative.