Editor:
Amazing how quickly the City of New Westminster was able to change the pedestrian crosswalk push buttons due to COVID-19 in response to concerned citizens. (Traffic signals going touchless in response to COVID-19, Record News, April 23.)
Very strange though that they did not keep all the audibles operating for the blind to assist them so they know when it is to be safe to cross the road, as in some cases, the audible countdowns were also eliminated unless the buttons are pressed.
These steps are not in accordance with the professional engineers priority of safety, especially when we learned that part of the CNIB offices are to move into New West in the next few months when our medical health officer gives a coronavirus clearance signal.
Another point about pedestrian crossings, Dr. Bonnie Henry confirmed that the Province of B.C.'s Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure had issued a Technical Circular T-07-2019 effective Sept. 30, 2019 which provides new pedestrian walking speeds of 1.0 m/sec for most people and, where warranted, reduced to 0.8 m/sec for seniors and those with physical challenges. Transportation Association of Canada advises this distance takes into account from the top of the curb ramp to the top of the curb ramp and not curb to curb. These new rates affect the timing and safety for all pedestrians to cross the road.
In the past few months, the Hon. David Eby, B.C.'s Attorney General and the minister responsible for ICBC, has taken a number of steps to reduce the upper limit that injured people can sue ICBC. Stats from ICBC show that in New Westminster alone, over a five-year period, there was an average of 58 pedestrian injuries per year.
If TransLink, which controls major road networks throughout the Lower Mainland, and municipalities do not change the pedestrian crossing times in accordance with the new walking rates, they leave themselves open to being sued by injured parties.
As New Westminster prioritized pedestrians in their 2015 Master Transportation Plan and the UN declared 2011 - 2020 as the Decade of Action for Road Safety, we hope that the City of New Westminster and TransLink will take a leadership role in prioritizing pedestrian safety by implementing appropriate pedestrian crossing times and correcting audibles immediately.
Vic Leach, New Westminster
