Pedestrian scrambles would be street smart
LIKE oil and water, vehicles and pedestrians don’t mix easily. Winnipeg has the death toll to prove it.
To improve the chances that pedestrians and cyclists can get home safely, the city recently introduced several proactive measures. Another batch of changes is about to be devised, including the expected introduction of pedestrian scrambles, a measure for which the city’s public works department has high hopes.
“We think this will have an effect on removing the conflict between pedestrians and motorists,” David Patman, manager of transportation, said during a recent committee meeting.
In theory, pedestrian scrambles are a good concept. Signals stop all vehicular traffic simultaneously, and pedestrians and cyclists safely cross the intersection in every direction, including diagonally, at the same time.
The scrambles are being considered by public works as part of something called the Road Safety Strategic Action Plan, a blueprint to make Winnipeg roads safer. The city advertised for consultants to help compose the plan and will award the contract on Oct. 29.
The city is also considering cameras at more intersections, new flashing countdowns at crosswalks and protected left-turn lanes.
These would add to a strategy of big and small changes already completed and obvious to everyone who drives regularly on Winnipeg roads.
Small changes include signage warning drivers about high-risk intersections, more “walk” signals that count down the time before the signal turns to “don’t walk,” speed tables that grab the attention of drivers by raising the road surface about eight centimetres for a length of seven metres, and a building spree of 43 new stop signs and 27 new pedestrian crosswalks.
Larger changes include expanded bike lanes, with Wolseley and West Broadway likely the next to get better cycling routes. Also, several years ago, 30 km/h speed limits were instituted at 230 school zones.
The traffic planners at city hall are doing many things right. The problem is a small but hazardous number of Winnipeg drivers who are distracted, aggressive and feel the rules of the road don’t apply to them.
Ten pedestrians have been killed in Winnipeg so far in 2019, which is more than triple the three pedestrians killed last year. And all urban cyclists tell horror stories of getting cut off, edged out or hit by vehicles whose drivers scoff at the notion that bicycles have just as much right to the road as motor vehicles.
These dangerous drivers will likely get irate when they experience how scrambles negatively affect vehicle traffic. In scrambles, red lights for vehicles last longer so pedestrians and cyclists in all directions have time to get across. That means lineups of vehicles grow longer, particularly during rush hour. In New York, some scrambles have congested vehicular traffic to the point of gridlock.
To anticipate how some drivers will react to scrambles, look at the public opposition when 30 km/h speed limits were instituted around schools several years ago. The purpose was to keep children safe; who could object to that? A small but vocal number of Winnipeg drivers, that’s who. Many publicly expressed vexation when ticketed for speeding through the school zones, even though slowing down would have added only about 10 seconds to their trips.
Precedent shows some Winnipeg drivers don’t learn easily. Zipper merging is a good example. Advertising campaigns have tried to teach Winnipeg drivers that, when two or more lanes of traffic approach a bottleneck, drivers from each lane are supposed to take turns entering the gap, like a zipper. There’s lots of opportunity to practise these days on the many Winnipeg streets where lanes suddenly end because of construction. But many inconsiderate drivers defend their position in line by blocking others from entering ahead of them.
When these same drivers encounter scrambles, some will get clench-jawed angry that their routes have been slowed considerably for the convenience of pedestrians and cyclists. It won’t do any good to tell these drivers they should commend, not condemn, their fellow Winnipeggers who walk and cycle to benefit the environment and their personal health.
In Winnipeg, the car culture rules. People choose retail and recreational outings based on the availability of parking, fast-food restaurants find great success by serving diners in their vehicles and zoning bylaws let downtown be dominated by ugly parking lots.
It’s not wrong to enjoy our vehicles. But it is wrong for drivers of vehicles to endanger the smart people whose transportation choices include a bicycle or sturdy walking shoes.
The angry drivers will just have to live with it as pedestrians and cyclists are prioritized. Scrambles are one more way Winnipeg’s traffic scene is heading in the right direction.
Carl DeGurse is a member of the Free Press editorial board.