Correspondence from a grade four student to city council regarding crosswalks has prompted the city to take a look at the matter.
At the August 18 committee of the whole meeting, councillors reviewed an email from Adria Hiltz, who goes to Edgehill Elementary School. She requested a crosswalk at the intersection of Fernwood Avenue and Alberni Street, “because many people need to get to the other side safely,” she stated in her email.
“She is in grade four and finds walking to school dangerous,” said committee chair and councillor CaroleAnn Leishman.
Councillor George Doubt said he read the letter and agrees with Adria. He said he frequently sees children and elderly people waiting at street corners at both Ontario and Fernwood avenues waiting for a chance to go across the street.
“I’d like to hear from city staff about the policy of putting one or more crosswalks along Alberni,” said Doubt. “It would slow people down a bit and we’ve got lots of time to enjoy the scenery around here.”
Mayor Dave Formosa said he thinks crosswalks are a good thing.
“I agree with councillor Doubt that maybe we can ask for a report on getting a crosswalk to get from one side of Alberni to another,” said Formosa. “I’ll support young Adria.”
Councillor Jim Palm asked if the city has discretion to put in a painted crosswalk, or in this day and age, whether there is a requirement for flashing lights.
Manager of engineering services Nagi Rizk said council may pass a resolution designating the location of a crosswalk on any paved street. He said it’s in the city’s traffic bylaw.
Rizk said technical advice for crosswalks that the city goes with is called a warrant, utilizing a crosswalk manual for BC. He said there is a method of calculating pedestrian and vehicular traffic and putting that into an equation and a table, which tells the city if a crosswalk is warranted or not.
“We have to count, over a certain duration, both vehicles and pedestrians, and come up with a result,” said Rizk. “I can confidently say that likely the results would not be satisfactory for a crosswalk.”
Rizk said if the city puts in a crosswalk that is less than the standard of a pedestrian-controlled lit crosswalk, it is asking for liability. He said it’s doable without pedestrian-controlled streetlights, but it becomes questionable if there is an accident.
“If you wanted a crosswalk there, technically, I don’t think it would warrant, but it’s doable,” said Rizk.
Leishman said she would like to see a report on some key locations where the city could construct bulb-outs, narrowing “runway strips” like Alberni Street and Manson Avenue.
“There are some key areas where the wider the road is, the faster people are going to go,” said Leishman. “Children do not feel safe trying to cross. Vancouver Coastal Health did an analysis and a majority of kids would like to bike or walk to school but they are being driven by their parents because they don’t feel safe. It’s not safe. Our streets are a hazard.”
Leishman said the city needs to start rethinking about how it designs streets.
Doubt said if the city is talking about being interested in active transportation, making this a walkable and cyclable community, decisions have to be made at some point about making streets safer for people engaged in active transportation.
“I’d like to see a report and some comments on the various costs,” he said. “Painting stripes on the road and putting some signs up is one cost, putting bulb-outs and controls is going to be another cost and I think it’s something we should all take into account when we are making a plan on what the policy should be.”
Councillor Cindy Elliott said she was in favour of having an assessment done on the entire city and its walkability to identify common destinations people are trying to get to, such as schools and shopping.
Leishman said the 2014 official community plan has a section on developing a comprehensive active transportation master plan.
“That’s where we are heading,” said Leishman. “We are going to need to look at our whole community for property cycling, pedestrian and mobility scooters for seniors.”
Palm said he’d like to limit the report in scope initially to look at crosswalks at Larry Gouthro Park on Manson Avenue, which had been brought up previously in discussion, and the Alberni and Fernwood location, to see the cost factors and all of the ramifications.
“It’s a very complicated issue when you get into road safety and liability,” he said.
Leishman said she would also like staff to look at grant funding opportunities for an expanded study looking at the city more broadly.
“Let’s get a report back on some low-hanging fruit in terms of crosswalks and we are going to have to look at a bigger strategy,” said Leishman.
Rizk said capacity internally in the city is limited in terms of the scope of a study and he would be glad to report back to council on a couple of locations, but for a city-wide study, he strongly recommended pursuing grants.
Council consented to study potential crosswalks at Alberni and Fernwood and on Manson Avenue at Larry Gouthro Park. Council also consented to seek grant funding for a broader study of the community.
