Pedestrians

Here's a document from the US Federal Highway Authority that looks at the safety benefit of pedestrian countdown signals. The study results showed that after the implementation of these signals, pedestrian crashes decreased by 9 percent, total crashes decreased by 8 percent and rear-end crashes decreased by 12 percent.

I pick up my grand daughters one afternoon a week at their rural elementary school. The kindergarten classes march out in line and wait patiently while their teacher identifies each child's caregiver and dismisses them individually. They now join the free for all to walk to the vehicles parked in the area and go home.

My mom was injured by a man riding in an electric wheelchair who was going too fast entering the James Bay Library. She was walking ahead of him when he ran into her. We have taken pictures of her leg injury. She is quite emotional about the incident and it has aggravated her PTSD.

Ariston Marcena and his wife decided to cross Yates Street just east of Cook Street in Victoria. When two vehicles in the lane closest to them stopped for his wife, Mr. Marcena urged her to cross the two lanes (not in a crosswalk) at a jog as he assumed that traffic was going to wait. Barry Thomson was riding his motorcycle in the next lane over and did not stop. He struck and injured both Marcenas.

The Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure has announced proposed changes to the Motor Vehicle Act (MVA) that would allow alternative types of transport such as Segways, e-scooters and electric unicycles to be used legally.

We have children as young as 4 and 5 years old walking to and from Ecole Oceanside Elementary school with their families. They cross at the intersections of Wright Road and Highway 19A, as well as Wright Road and Wembley Road (a 4 way stop) without the benefit of school crossing guards.

Alexander Zacher was walking to work early on the morning of October 31, 2014 in Tsawwassen. He followed the walk signal on 12th Avenue at the intersection of 52nd Street using the marked crosswalk. When he was about two-thirds of the way across he was struck by a left turning vehicle driven by Glenn Prescesky and suffered serious injuries.

Q: I am confused by this sign on Pandora Avenue in Victoria that seems to indicate no pedestrian crossing to vehicle traffic yet there is nothing to tell the pedestrian not to cross the street here. There is even a wheelchair ramp encouraging pedestrians to cross. I suspect that there are more examples of this in the area. Can you explain what that sign means?

"Excuse me? There is no wrong side of the road for pedestrians." This is the gospel according to @alaskanmind in a conversation I was involved in on Twitter this week. "It is a drivers legal responsibility to drive with due care and attention, meaning they are solely responsible." Here's an example from our courts where this view is shown to be incorrect.

When the drivers stop to give a pedestrian in a crosswalk the right of way, unless there is a compelling reason not to, the pedestrian should take it and proceed. Yesterday I stopped along with the driver to my left to enable a man standing in the middle of 4 lanes of traffic to cross.