Comment 105813

By kevlahan (registered) | Posted October 31, 2014 at 10:52:04 in reply to Comment 105809

Well, I grew up in Vancouver, and the main difference is that motorists (on both sides of the street) immediately stopped for a pedestrian as soon as they took one foot off the curb at an unsignalized (i.e. just paint and pedestrian X signs) crosswalk. And in most cases motorists will stop if a pedestrian just looks like they want cross, even mid block. This means pedestrian activated lights are only required in the most extreme circumstances and, in my experience, they do change very quickly and predictably.

So perhaps you can understand my frustration in coming to Hamilton where there are almost no crosswalks, and even those extremely expensive pedestrian activated traffic lights are often set up to provide minimum or confusing service to pedestrians (until staff are pushed by residents to program them properly as has happened at at least four intersections in Durand and Kirkendell the last few years).

And, the sad thing is that the HTA actually says more or less the same thing as in BC: pedestrians have to wait for a large enough gap that motorists can stop safely, and motorists must yield to crossing pedestrians at any intersection, whether or not it has traffic signals (stop sign or traffic light). The only difference is that currently on a two way street motorists only need to stop when the crossing pedestrian is on their side (although the government has just introduced legislation to require all traffic to stop).

Have you actually tried to exercise your right to cross at an unsignalized intersection in Hamilton? Almost all Hamilton drivers seem to assume that they do not need to yield or slow down for a crossing pedestrian: it is the pedestrian who is expected to run out of the way of the driver.

Comment edited by kevlahan on 2014-10-31 10:53:45

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