Now that winter is upon us, we must examine the perilous state of the pedestrian. Is there anything more unequal than the conflict between the pedestrian and the car?
The car is the bully, big and powerful, equipped to stop in comfort, but it refuses to give the pedestrian the right of way. In Winnipeg, considered as one of the coldest capitals in the world, this is an atrocious display of bad manners. Pedestrians may freeze waiting to cross, but this is the way it is in Winnipeg.
The civility of a city can be judged by the importance and respect given to pedestrians. On that basis, the standard of civility is poor indeed. Pedestrians are treated in a shabby manner. The law places them in an exalted position. A motorist must stop once a pedestrian starts crossing the street.
That rarely happens. The pedestrian is regarded by drivers as a ne'er-do-well. That does not seem to bother all the agencies concerned with the rules of the road, safety and welfare of citizens.
Rarely, if ever, is a word heard about the rights of pedestrians from the provincial Transportation department, Manitoba Public Insurance, automobile associations or city council and police. They are silent on the flagrant denial of the status of pedestrians.
The safety and priority of the pedestrian is raised so seldom it creates a climate that may be a factor in this bizarre case.
On a bright morning in April 2007, Shep Shell, a blind man of 62, led by his seeing-eye dog Page, crossed Cordova Street at Grant Avenue, a special pedestrian corridor. They were proceeding south and stopped at the median. There Shell pressed the button to reactivate the beeping sound and flashing yellow lights.
The car in the first lane had stopped, as he had heard it do. Shell held out his arm to present a larger profile and proceeded into the second lane when he heard a car approaching quickly. He didn't dare to move back in case the car in that lane was moving.
"I felt helpless," he told me. "I knew I was going to be hit." He swung Page behind him to save her from injury. He was struck and thrown to the street, suffering cuts, bruises and a severely swollen right hand.
This is an extreme case -- a blind man with a seeing-eye dog struck in a pedestrian corridor with flashing lights in a school zone.
Still, it does speak of the blatant disregard of the pedestrian. The record shows few drivers are charged for not yielding to pedestrians. The pedestrian must use common sense and not barge across an intersection. Most make certain it is safe to do so.
In the period from 2004 to 2007, only an average of 16 tickets per year were issued for not yielding the right of way to a pedestrian or passing another vehicle stopped for a pedestrian. An average of 48 drivers per year were charged for failure to yield in a pedestrian corridor or passing in a corridor.
The existence of special pedestrian corridors conveys the impression that here only pedestrians have the right of way. The law makes it clear the motorist must give way to the pedestrian at any intersection whether marked or not by lights.
But that is not the way it turns out in Winnipeg. I am dumbfounded as I listen to a discussion on CBC radio about the hazards facing pedestrians. Callers say it is impossible to cross south Osborne. There is no let up in traffic to allow crossing. They want the city to establish another pedestrian corridor because the closest one is a few blocks away. I heard no one raise the point that pedestrians have priority and the law should be enforced.
Other cities give pedestrians the break they deserve. Rosemarie Cloutis came to Winnipeg 12 years ago from Edmonton with her husband, Ed, and family.
"I was shocked that drivers gave no regard to pedestrians," she recalls. "In Edmonton, pedestrians crossing the street at corners expect and are given the right of way."
In Europe, the place of the pedestrian is so respected that an act of parliament was framed to focus on their rights. This is the Charter of Pedestrians' Rights, adopted by the European Parliament in 1988.
One clause states: "The pedestrian has the right to live in urban or village centres tailored to the needs of human beings and not the needs of the motor car and to have the amenities within walking or cycling distance."
Today, there are no champions for the pedestrian as such figures of the past as Coun. Joe Zuken, who denounced the closure of Portage and Main to pedestrians. There is no greater affront to pedestrians in Canada than the decision to make the symbol of Winnipeg the exclusive precinct of cars.
It is a blot on Winnipeg that next year will mark the 30th anniversary of the scandal of Portage and Main. It reinforces the subordinate status of the pedestrian.
Portage and Main must be opened to the people. The disrespect for pedestrians, I submit, is out of character. As a whole, Winnipeggers are a decent, caring lot as shown by the high number of volunteers in a multitude of services. We rate near the top in Canada. This is the spirit of civility that must be restored to our public streets.
Val Werier is a Winnipeg writer.
