City study calls for upped pedestrian protection
Posted Mar 5, 2013 7:42 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
The issue of pedestrian safety is once again in the public eye as city officials look to make Calgary streets safer.
Alderman Gael MacLeod issued an urgent notice of motion Monday for a city study to improve safety.
The report will look at what contributes to pedestrian-vehicle collisions and what can be done to minimize the number of incidents.
There are 360 such incidents on average in the city each year; 330 resulting in injuries, six of them fatal.
The Ward 4 Alderman says they’ve definitely noticed an upward trend.
MacLeod wants to know the costs associated with some tools to protect the walking public.
“Solar-powered crosswalks are certainly an option,” she tells 660News. “But we can’t put that in every crosswalk, we can put that in some. We also are looking at different kinds of paint and painting the lines differently.”
She says the idea sparked out of concern from the community after the hit and run death of 56-year-old Wong Suk Yee.
It was almost two weeks ago that Wong was struck and killed by two vehicles; investigators are still on the hunt for the second driver.
The incident left neighbours in the community of Sandstone shocked and saddened that people could just drive around the woman instead of offering to help.
“I think it’s an opportunity to create an awareness campaign,” MacLeod explains. “That’s what I was asking for; let’s look at the options here. It’s more than just handing out reflective wristbands, it’s about creating awareness.”
“We’re trying to increase the amount of pedestrians, people using things other than their cars to get to work and as we have more cars and cyclists, we have to share the road and be more aware,” she says.
City bureaucrats plan on working with police to see which crosswalks are being ignored by drivers.
They have until July to compile their report and present it to the Transportation and Transit Committee.
