Traffic lights offer more time
Pedestrians get longer to cross as hundreds of road signals modified
Intersection by intersection, Mayor Rob Ford’s Toronto is quietly becoming friendlier to pedestrians.
Since January 2010, nearly a year before Ford took office, city transportation workers have been modifying hundreds of traffic signals per year to give people more time to cross the street.
Toronto previously required pedestrians to walk at 1.2 metres per second to cross most intersections. That pace, long considered an international standard, is still used across the continent. Toronto and York Region have switched to a slower pace, one metre per second, that is preferred by advocates for the elderly and for pedestrians.
“You frequently see older people who are walking with a cane or crutches or something of that sort, and they have panic in their eyes because they don’t want the light to change before they get to the other side,” said Norm Shulman, executive director of the Ontario Gerontology Association.
The switch means pedestrians now get at least 30 seconds instead of 25 seconds to cross a major 30metre intersection like those common outside the downtown core. It also means drivers must wait longer at red lights.
Only about 475 Toronto intersections used the slower standard as of early 2010. As of this week, more than 1,500 intersections did — about 68 per cent. The rest will be converted by the end of 2014, said urban traffic control systems manager Rajnath Bissessar.
The switch, Bissessar said, was prompted by international studies, complaints from seniors, a similar change in the U.S traffic manual, and recognition of the needs of the city’s aging population.
Pedestrians over the age of 65 are disproportionately likely to be struck by cars.
“Signal timing is always a balancing act,” Bissessar said. “We recognize that there may be an impact on congestion but our primary focus was safety for pedestrians, particularly the elderly, since they are the most vulnerable segment of the pedestrian population.” Bissessar said longer walk times at the intersection of two major streets may not actually increase traffic congestion, since extra time is being provided in both directions. And at the intersection of a major street and a minor street, “the increase in walk time can be accommodated within the existing cycle length so the impact on main street traffic would be minimal,” he said. Neither the Canadian Automobile Association nor Councillor Denzil Minnan-Wong, the public works committee chair and Ford ally who has regularly advocated for drivers, was aware of the change in Toronto until the Star told them about it. Neither offered any criticism. “Toronto has to adapt and respond to changing demographics and encourage people to get out and walk and get exercise, especially older people who will benefit from getting out of their homes,” said Minnan-Wong, who noted the city is also working to better synchronize lights. “If the seniors can’t cross the street, they won’t come out.” York Region adopted the slower pace in 2011after a highly publicized — though very possibly random — series of pedestrian deaths in the summer of 2010. Steven Kemp, York’s director of traffic management, said he does not consider the switch “major.” “To say that it’s had a direct impact on pedestrian safety I think would be a stretch,” Kemp said. “But, at the same time, we know the population is getting older, pedestrians overall are getting slower . . . so I think, intuitively, there are some safety benefits to doing it.” Toronto is reducing crossing speeds in conjunction with an equipment upgrade. Bissessar said the cost is about $50 per intersection when done with the rest of the project, $300 when done independently. Crossing speeds may gradually get lower across the country. A draft report from a Transportation Association of Canada project that involved several municipalities, including Toronto, recommends a standard pace of one metre per second and a pace of 0.9 metres per second for intersections where at least 20 per cent of pedestrians are 65 or older, Bissessar said.