Page M4 May 2, 1990. This Week CITY SCENE | | Getting across the message By JOHN STANTON This Week Contributor he middle aged woman stands at a busy intersection on Cook Street and shakes her head. “Why did they take those white lines off the crosswalk?” she asks, then glancing at a small sign that reads CROSSWALK LINES RE- MOVED/ USE CAUTION, she shakes her head in disbelief.When told the change is a safety measure she just laughs and, after finding a gap in the traffic, hurries across the street. - She is not the only one who thinks the idea is ridiculous, and the staff at the city’s traffic department are get- ting an earful from many citizens because of the change. Peoples’ com- plaints range from mild rebuke to more firm criticism, because the thick white lines at all those city crosswalks have been mostly scrubbed out of existence and replaced by warning signs. However some peoples’ minds are changed, but only after patient bur- eaucrats explain why crews removed the paint from the streets, said traffic engineer Tim Gallivan. The city’s reasoning goes some- thing like this: by removing the mark- ings it becomes safer for pedestrians to walk across streets because people will take more caution. In November 1988 city council vot- ed in a new policy clearing the way for the project because of research unde- rtaken by the traffic department. Officials looked at a 1972 study commissioned by the city of San Die- go, and more studies carried out in later years by other southern Califor- fKKee VT RSe RES SSESSE SSS [RELSLSRERS SAGE: Re BRRKKR; Victoria are poor attitudes. Pedestrians are more aggressive and less cau- tious, and in fact challenge motorists, in marked intersections, said Gallivan. Victoria Alderman Geoff Young is chairman of city council’s advisory traffic commission, which meant he had to steer the policy through council. PERE: RELKSRERSRE: SERET ERRSS nia communities, on crosswalk safety. They concluded those white lines are, if anything, a danger to pedestri- ans because they give people a false sense of security, said Gallivan, one of those involved in the research pro- gram in Victoria. Originally city officials were fo- cussed on dispelling the San Diego study. Instead they discovered elimi- nating those lines resulted in fewer pedestrian casualties. They also found out that painted crosswalks were twice as dangerous as unpainted ones. Fe There is ample evidence to confirm that fewer pedestrians are struck down, and injured or killed, at un- marked crosswalks than in marked intersections, he said adding that Kehueuee eer EREFRRESRS RRR RESP* xe ERELES Re RE RERRERECERES SRR eX ~ a tern ow SSERBELERRETRERS 3 oy css SP RSRERVERERERSSTLLSRACLKLaS Ree SRS sERs ~~~ & SHER LERSYKALERSLRKA KE LLSCLERTHRSRELSRALE SS ~~ x LERERRESSRELBRRELE KLE KERR eLKL esses” ERELLISESSRTRACRELRS TERS pkeRBERTRRLRS FAKTSRELTS ES VSRELECSRSERSAKSER SS RRESELS ECL TS RLSSRSSL ERAT ATA LRARASRSLREHTESSO~ PRSLSEREAARALSSLSLTS RERPRBRASKTAASe SO LERERERRLS KSELSLRSSS TE SARS KK” ERERESRELRR ESTES” FLTEZB RE wows REEPELSTLRRATRSS ee ¢RRERSSE RE PVELCLE LR ASLSLSRRERRAPRSLOKSS SRRESSKESE KERSRRESSPRSS LE RSE SS RS SRS SK SRAS SRSREK eT’ RRESEHSSERSRERRSSRSRETTRSRERRHE SASS SS ST” ow BX z «as @BSESESEER SOR ERESLESESTRLELERTRS PRE ERERKS LASTS LR SR ASE S> IBRSERRIE ¢ FRROSLTETS SESRF RKSR ERS eS eee RERRERS SE .n eeRSERELERSESRTR ALES ax xX tSBLESSRASLRERK CSCS REEVES: pS EREL ERRLES ag ~ xe ER RELA RR ES : an S#SRRELESSSRES EL EP LAL . xo LESSRSR TH KCRSLRL SASS ~RSRLERTRRELKES $ € RERRSLES Re SRERLHOSR SR: RLSLASKLES RELHRRERSTSAALS RSSRSSSRVKTSS-——~ xe RS REE RPSSRBSARSLSE os SPRERWVRKTLSLSRESLSRERSRELE SLE ERESE SRE SRSES. have to change too,” he said. Young believes there is a need for better enforce- ment of driving laws with motorists being fined for unsafe driving. Statisties supplied by the Victoria Police Depart- ment tell part of the story. Since April 1987 there have been 388 accidents between people trying tc-& ;: eross the street and motor vehicles. In those incidents 407 people suf- , fered injuries and six others died. Not all of those accidents occurred in intersections because police do not break down those numbers by loca- tion. Meanwhile the campaign to con- vince Victorians continues. But if reaction from the Capital Regional District chairman is any example there may have to be more convincing at the political level, never mind the person on the street. Ald. Murray Coell of Saanich is also CRD chairman and he is reserving § judgment, when asked what he ¥% thought of the idea. “ “Tt seems to be a Victoria initiative. I can’t think of another municipality which is doing it,” he said, adding he would like to wait and see how suc- cessful the project is, before any & thought is given to making it aregion- # al policy. He noted that a traffic safety com- mittee of the CRD meets regularly to discuss issues, including pedestrian safety, on a region-wide basis. While Coell reserves his opinion, & Oak Bay Ald. David Nicholson favors the project. = “T don’t know the whole story, but logically it makes sense. Pedestrians can be lulled into a false sense of security by marked crosswalks,” hea said. Despite public opinion, Gallivan points out the law is very specific, with or without lines painted on the § road. The pedestrian has the right of B way over vehicles, he said. ; “Legal responsibility still gives pe- destrians the right of way, but they can’t step off a curb with impunity.” As for the handful of crosswalks that remain painted, that all has to do — with hourly traffic density and the number of people crossing the street each day. If 700 to 1,000 vehicles drive through a given intersection each hour, or 35 to 50 people walk across an intersection in an eight hour peri- epengaunngsne : So oawsSEBSEERES —