The City of Duncan will move forward with its trial run of a new pedestrian-scramble crosswalk at Ingram Street and Canada Avenue later this summer or early in the fall so it will be in place close to the time school begins, council decided at its meeting on Aug. 14.
A pedestrian-scramble crossing, also known as a diagonal crossing or X-Crossing, is a type of traffic signal movement that temporarily stops all vehicle traffic, from all directions, allowing pedestrians to cross an intersection in every direction, including diagonally, during a dedicated time phase that is for pedestrians only.
The primary purpose for changing traffic and pedestrian patterns from a traditional crossing to a scramble-pedestrian crossing is to increase pedestrian safety.
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But a survey on the plan that was on the city’s website, which had 71 responses as of Aug. 9, indicated that 49 per cent of those who took the survey were either strongly or somewhat supportive of the idea, while 48 per cent were either somewhat or strongly opposed.
One survey taker who was opposed said people driving already have a hard time stopping at the lights and stop signs when there’s lit pedestrian crossings.
“I do not see a benefit to a pedestrian scramble because cars will still try and drive through like they do now, as well as making illegal right hand turns when pedestrians have right-of-way at the crosswalks,” they said.
Another who supports the move said it would prevent vehicles from rushing pedestrians at the crosswalks.
“I am a pedestrian who walks a lot in Duncan, and I find that drivers need an education to be able to see pedestrians in the city,” they said.
“This could be part of the education process, along with the flashing lights at crosswalks.”
At the council meeting on Aug. 14, public works director Brian Murphy said a public information campaign will be launched prior to the installation of the scramble crossing to inform drivers and pedestrians of the upcoming changes to the intersection.
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He said Informational signage for pedestrians, likely in the form of sandwich boards, will be prepared and located around the intersection.
“The community engagement page can continue with a survey to gauge the community’s response to the trial project after it has been implemented,” Murphy said.
“Facebook posts will be created and scheduled to advertise the trial program and the online survey.”
Murphy said that once a review of the implementation plan is complete, new partial road markings for the diagonal-pedestrian crossing directions will be installed.
He said the partial markings will be painted using a semi-permanent paint that can be removed in the event the trial proves to be unsuccessful.
“Traffic signal operations will also need to be adjusted to accommodate the scramble crossing,” Murphy said.
Coun. Tom Duncan noted that Murphy’s staff report indicated that the additional wait time at the intersection will increase by between 20 and 25 seconds.
He said that’s not a huge change, but it will slow traffic a little.
“Was there ICBC statistics on this intersection as part of your investigation?” Duncan asked Murphy.
Murphy said his report indicates that the number of accidents occurring at the intersection has increased from two crashes in 2020 and two in 2021, to six in 2022.
“The trend is not positive for traffic safety at this intersection,” he said.
robert.barron@cowichanvalleycitizen.com
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