City officials hope some new street signs will encourage everyone – not just kids – to pay attention when crossing the street.
St. Albert public works crews installed the first of 50 educational street signs Monday as part of a Capital Region Intersection Safety Partnership (CRISP) initiative to improve traffic safety.
The fluorescent yellow signs feature iconography that encourages people to point, pause, and proceed before crossing the road at uncontrolled crosswalks.
St. Albert is looking to eliminate pedestrian-related collisions, but it won’t get there with enforcement alone, Mayor Nolan Crouse said in a press release.
“Education is a major factor in developing safety-conscious youth and adults for today and tomorrow.”
The city plans to put these signs at uncontrolled crosswalks in school zones and high-pedestrian areas such as Oakmont, said city transportation manager Dean Schick. Street markings will be used where signs don’t fit. Accompanying the signs this fall will be educational pamphlets sent out to schools and bundled with local utility bills.
The campaign costs about $20,000 and is funded by the city’s Safe Journeys to School budget.
Point, pause and proceed is a technique taught to many school kids where, prior to stepping onto the road, you point to indicate your intentions, pause until you make eye-contact with drivers and they stop, then proceed across the street.
Strathcona County is already promoting this technique under its “Way to Be” campaign, and Morinville and Spruce Grove have expressed interest in creating signs and pamphlets similar to St. Albert’s, Schick said.
Safety is a shared responsibility between pedestrians and drivers, Schick said. While the city is enforcing traffic laws, installing flashing lights and painting bright yellow crosswalks, no amount of engineering will protect a person if they don’t cross the road safely.
CRISP chairperson Tim Vandenbrink agreed.
“Pedestrians are seldom the winners in a collision,” he said, yet many walk around while distracted by their iPods or smartphones.
“It’s not (a case of) everyone’s going to see you and look after you. You have to look after yourself.”
About 73 per cent of the pedestrians involved in collisions from 2013 to 2015 were aged 15 to 65, Schick noted – “grown-ups,” not kids.
“This age group is one, I believe, often has a sense of false security in pedestrian crossings,” Schick said, and assume the onus is on the driver to not hit them.
These new street signs are meant to encourage pedestrians to take responsibility for their actions by making themselves visible and clearly communicating their intentions, Schick said. They’re also supposed to teach drivers to be aware of these visual cues.
“We are the example for our kids,” Schick said, and we have to demonstrate these techniques if we want our kids to use them.
“As a parent myself, every time I cross the street with my three-year-old daughter, I’m encouraging this (behaviour).”
Greater St. Albert Catholic Schools transportation manager Lauri-Ann Turnbull approved of the signs, saying that they would help remind students to use the point, pause and proceed technique.
“It’s great the city is being proactive and looking at ways to keep our children safe.”
