Raise the Hammer

I've always wondered why Hamilton has never adopted the push button - flashing crossing light (yellow x sign) that Toronto uses at intersections with no stop signs at various intersections.. I've always grown up with pushing a button, point, and was on my way.. Once I was across, traffic carried on, all was happy!
Guess it's expense, but it should be used as it worked!

That, and we value being a 10-minute city over all else.

Comment edited by jason on 2013-11-11 09:42:11

Hamilton's traffic department is not the only one that has concluded that PXOs have a bad safety record. Don't make it sound like a made-in-Hamilton conspiracy.

The city's pedestrian safety plan for over a decade was to ban pedestrians by letting crosswalk markings fade away and not installing signalized crossings (of any kind) anywhere. Hard to see it as anything other than a conspiracy against walking, even if things are getting better now.

To be fair, as far as I know, Hamilton was the first municipality in Ontario to explicitly exclude PXOs, more than a decade ago without implementing any replacement (almost no crosswalks at uncontrolled intersections were replaced until very recently). If you know of precedents, before 2000, please let me know as I would be interested. I also don't know of any other municipality that used this interpretation to suddenly remove all signs from hundreds of painted crosswalks at uncontrolled intersections and then simply let the painted lines fade. Again, if you know of other examples, please cite them.

At the time Hart Solomon cited three reasons:

1. PXOs are very rare outside Toronto and so drivers don't know what they are. This is slightly strange reasoning as PXOs are defined in the HTA regulations and discussed in the Ontario Driver's Handbook. The same argument could have been made about bike lanes ten years ago.

2. PXOs don't have a good safety record. I'm not sure what the comparison is, but since most pedestrian accidents happen at regular intersections, the safety record of even basic pedestrian infrastructure is not good.

3. Expense. The argument was that they are almost as expensive as the pedestrian operated traffic light that Hamilton prefers. This may have been true in the past, but the current price for a pedestrian activated traffic light is $150,000 and the cost of a Toronto style PXO is around $30,000, over five times less.

The bottom line is the the City's decision left Hamilton without a feasible way of providing crosswalks at uncontrolled intersections for over a decade, and increased danger to pedestrians by leaving the painted lines on the road (most notably on Hunter Street adjacent to the YWCA and pedestrian underpass used by seniors and children/parents going to the YWCA Seniors Centre and daycare).

In BC and Alberta both pedestrian activated traffic lights and painted lines/sign crosswalks are used. The Traffic Light model is reserved for those locations that are most dangerous or with highest pedestrian activity.

Comment edited by kevlahan on 2013-11-11 10:28:57

Toronto did a study of its PXOs in 2005-6. They determined that PXOs worked well under appropriate conditions, but also that there were some conditions under which they were not satisfactory. The appropriate conditions include (inter alia) four lanes or less of two-way traffic, or three lanes or less of one-way traffic; slower average vehicle speeds; and good visibility. They were less appropriate for major arterials with multiple lanes of traffic moving at high speeds.

Here is the report:

http://www.toronto.ca/legdocs/2006/agend...

And here is a journalist's summary:

http://spacing.ca/toronto/2006/05/06/ped...

Because of the heavier traffic volumes in Toronto (their "low volume of traffic" threshold for safe use of PXOs would include almost every arterial in Hamilton!), traffic tends move more slowly anyway, at least in the core. Our arterials tend to have timed lights that break up the traffic into clusters. There is good visibility between the clusters. Traffic flow on Toronto arterials is more constant, so visibility is less and substantial gaps are fewer.

Just speaking from the cuff, I would expect PXOs could be effective on Hamilton arterials with timed lights, because visibility at the head of the wave tends to be pretty good. At the No Frills at Main and Ontario, I have seen this scenario frequently: A low mobility patron begins to cross Main when the "green wave" is stopped. Long before the pedestrian finishes crossing, the wave begins to move, and the cars don't slow down or stop; they just weave around the pedestrian. Flashing yellow overhead lights, especially if accompanied by driver education as to their duties to yield to pedestrians, would allow the whole wave to slow down sufficiently for a much safer crossing. But, there may be many considerations that haven't occurred to me (besides the well-known uniqueness of Hamilton).

Comment edited by j.servus on 2013-11-11 11:08:59

According to the Toronto report I linked above, the probability of a pedestrian accident at a regular intersection is around ten times that of PXOs. Also it was determined that almost all the accidents involving PXOs were on arterial roadways. The report concluded that PXOs were unsatisfactory for most arterial roadways, but as you imply, all pedestrian infrastructure seems unsatisfactory for arterial roadways.

Toronto is not installing any new PXOs and only now installs MPS' (Midblock Pedestrian Signals). Mississauga has zero PXOs. The general policy in all municipalities that I know of is to install MPS' instead of PXOs.

The recently revised Ontario Traffic Manual Book 15 provides for a new version of PXOs which omits the amber flashing beacon and is instead enhanced pavement markings and signage plans to better deliniate pedestrian crossing spaces. Highway Traffic Act amendments are required to make the new standard a legal treatment.

Again, my point was not that PXOs are good or bad. My point was that Hamilton is not the only municipality to discontinue their use, and to paint the picture that we are, due to the nefarious machinations of Hart Solomon, is misleading at best. In fact it is a reverse form of the Hamilton exceptionalism syndrome. In normal form it sounds like "But that won't work because this is Hamilton." In this case, it sounds like "But we don't have that because this is Hamilton."

Comment edited by matthewsweet on 2013-11-11 13:04:20

Thanks for the references. It is true that Hamilton could be seen as a pioneer (in a positive way) in rejecting PXOs very early, and has since been followed by other municipalities.

However, the truly "nefarious" part was not so much rejecting PXOs and replacing them with safer signals (as was done in Mississauga), but removing the signs for crosswalks and leaving the pavement markings to fade. These crossings were not replaced with anything.

Neighbourhood Associations (e.g. Durand and Kirkendall) who asked for the crossings to be replaced were told that a pedestrian activated signal was not justified (because they are so expensive), but that the cheaper PXO was an unacceptable option, leaving us with no feasible alternative.

Toronto is not removing all existing PXOs and leaving the crossings un-signed, it is simply not installing new ones and upgrading some existing ones.

If Hamilton had taken the same approach with the "painted lines and signs" crosswalks at intersections, or had come up with a solution that could be feasibly implemented to replace these crosswalks then it would not have been so damaging. At the very least, they could have actively removed the decoy pavement markings.

Comment edited by kevlahan on 2013-11-11 13:37:23

I will not defend the policy of letting crosswalk markings fade away that you have outlined. It's pretty indefensible. It seems that policy has been reversed and the Pedestrian Mobility Plan is a step in the right direction.

It would be interesting to compare other Ontario municipalities interpretations of 'uncontrolled intersections' to at least see if our Legal Department's opinion is common among its immediate peers.

Some quick searching found nothing clearly stated, but there does seem to be similarity's in the way Zebra Crossing use is mandated…

Brampton's 2010 Pedestrian Safety Plan and the interpretation seems similar to Hamilton's:

*"The Highway Traffic Act gives the right-of-way to pedestrians in the presence of and adherence to the following traffic control devices:

Pedestrian crossover Traffic Control Signals Mid-block Pedestrian Signal School Crossing Guard Stop sign controlled intersection"*

Unsigned intersections are not included, and later...

*"The following guidelines will be used to determine appropriate locations for Zebra Crosswalks in Brampton:

The crossing location must be controlled by a traffic signal or stop sign Where pedestrian crossing volumes are high In the presence of high right or left turn vehicle volumes Where there is a higher than expected number of pedestrian collisions

Zebra Striped Crosswalks will not be installed at locations without a traffic control device or at mid-block school crossings."*

Toronto seems to phrase their 2006 Zebra crossing literature similarly:

"The purpose of the zebra striped pedestrian crossing is to make the pedestrian crossing area more visible to drivers approaching a signalized intersection, and to remind them that they must watch for and yield to pedestrians in the crosswalk."

By the way check out today's Dreschel Dreck if you have the stomach for it.

http://www.thespec.com/opinion-story/420...

It doesn't seem to be true that Toronto has discontinued PXO installations. What seems to be true is that (1) existing installations on arterial roadways are being replaced, per the findings of the 2006 report linked above, (2) existing installations on other streets are being upgraded with zebra markings, and (3) all NEW installations include zebra markings. See this Toronto city staff report from April 2013, p. 3: http://www.toronto.ca/legdocs/mmis/2013/...

Comment edited by administrator Ryan on 2013-11-11 17:48:14

As mentioned before on the RTH, the difference between crosswalks at signalized intersections and unsignalized intersections is that drivers must stop for waiting pedestrians at crosswalks at signalized intersections and allow them to cross, while at crosswalks at unsignalized intersections pedestrians must wait for a large enough gap that motorists have time to stop before starting to cross. In both case once pedestrians have started crossing, motorists must yield by slowing or stopping, even at completely unsignalized and unmarked intersections. This is absolutely clear in the Highway Traffic Act and in court cases.

For example, in http://www.canlii.org/en/on/oncj/doc/200... the judge confirmed that "undelineated" crosswalks defined under s. 1(1)(a) are “portions of a roadway are marked for pedestrian use” where, if there are no markings or signs, the crosswalk is "marked" by the extensions of the sidewalks on either side of the road.

Hamilton is not unique in only putting crosswalks only at signalized intersections, and indeed it seems a fairly common guideline throughout the GTAH, however many municipalities outside the GTAH do not follow this guideline.

A clear and simple McMaster style sign would remind drivers of their duty to yield to crossing pedestrians at all intersections, and remind pedestrians to "watch for traffic" or "ensure motorists have time to come to a safe stop".

The current situation has meant most motorists are unaware of their duty to yield to pedestrians crossing at an unsignalized intersection, and yet pedestrians still need to cross. This leads to especially dangerous situations for the elderly, children and disabled (who are slower or have difficulty judging speed) as well as at busier intersections where it may require waiting an unreasonably long time for a gap so large that traffic does not have to slow down or stop to allow a complete crossing.

Comment edited by kevlahan on 2013-11-11 14:59:19

Comment edited by Cultosaurus on 2013-11-11 15:02:39

What, specifically, do you have a problem with?

"... pedestrians behaving negligently (e.g. an 8-year old running out from a playground after a ball)."

Wow! Talk about blaming the victim. Needless to say, that is perfectly normal 8-year-old behaviour and not negligent at all.

Negligence occurs if a car driver drives through a residential neighbourhood or near a playground at such a speed that the car driver fails to allow for perfectly normal, reasonable and expected child behaviour such as running out onto the road.

Such a car drivers is, of course, criminally negligent and appropriate criminal charges need to be laid.

I don't know about anyone else but I have a problem with the part where he takes an entire article to complain about "sleepwalking pedestrians and arrogant cyclists" right after a study came out finding Hamilton is one of the most deadly cities in Ontario to walk or bike in. Tacky much?

I've seen the article about the study, but I didn't actually see the study. Was there a link to the study itself?

Link doesn't work. I would be fascinated to hear that Toronto is still installing the old school yellow flashing amber ped activated PXOs.

They are installing "enhanced" PXOs with better flashing amber lights: they will continue to install PXOs on minor and collector roads, so Hamilton's position is not actually being followed by Toronto.

Most importantly, unlike Hamilton's decision over a decade ago, they are not simply removing the existing PXOs on arterial roads (and letting the lines fade), they are replacing them with full signals, or using brighter and larger amber lights.

From the report:

"Replacement of Pedestrian Crossovers ('PXOs') with traffic signals on major and minor arterial roads. To date, about one-third of the PXOs on major arterial roadways have been converted to fully signalized intersections and the rest enhanced with brighter lights and larger lenses to enhance visibility. On minor arterial roadways, almost 40 PXOs have been replaced with traffic control signals, and the remaining PXOs have also been enhanced. PXOs on collector and local roads are also being enhanced on a priority basis and all new PXO new installations are constructed to the new standard. "

Comment edited by kevlahan on 2013-11-11 18:00:57

It wasn't made clear that Hamilton does seem to be following a common municipal legal interpretation of the Ontario Highway Traffic Act, not their own unique one.

This interpretation is somewhat supported by recent provincial recommendations discouraging "marked or unmarked uncontrolled crossings":

The Ontario Traffic Manual - Book 15: Pedestrian Crossing Facilities from Dec 2010, page 45:

"3.3 Uncontrolled Pedestrian Crossing

Uncontrolled pedestrian crossings are locations(other than a controlled pedestrian crossing as defined in Section 3.2) where pedestrian crossing activity takes place without traffic control measures to designate and assign the right-of-way for pedestrians at the crossing. Consequently, marked or unmarked uncontrolled crossings are to be discouraged where there is a higher likelihood of conflicts given the lack of formal right-of-way designation for pedestrians. Pedestrian crossings should be prioritized first based on consideration of implementing supporting traffic control measures as defined in Section 3.1.2, and provided that appropriate warrant and site conditions are satisfactory. Wherever possible, pedestrians are to be encouraged to use crossing locations with traffic control devices."

I forget where I was recently in Toronto but noticed a new PXO with a really visible, new flashing light. The bold zebra crossing added a lot too.

The data presented last week to City council and to the media was a preview of an upcoming SPRC report. The deputation available on the SPRC website provides sources: http://www.sprc.hamilton.on.ca/2013/11/s...

There's no firm date for release of the full SPRC report yet, but should be in a few weeks.

Thanks, Ryan, for fixing my link. "Enhanced" includes the zebra markings as well as the brighter lights. From the previous bullet point to the one quoted by Kevlahan: "Zebra Crossing Pavement Markings. These markings increase the visibility of the pedestrian crossing area. They are being installed on all major road reconstruction and resurfacing projects, and on new traffic control or pedestrian crossover installations."

Comment edited by j.servus on 2013-11-11 23:09:43

Thanks!

i keep trying to wrap my head around this problem and how little concern there seems to fix this particularly destructive element in society. the best analogy i can come up with is imagining if car drivers were being injured and killed at the rate of pedestrians and cyclists by TRAINS. imaging if there were hundreds of uncontrolled unsignaled intersections that cars were forced to navigate daily with freight trains speeding by constantly. where motorists were routinely struck by trains and severly injured or killed? how much uproar would there be to solve that problem? would we still blame the driver for trying to drive around a city filled with trains? does not the city have a duty to create safe infrastructure to minimize the impact of the interaction between one mode of transportation which is inherently orders of magnitude more dangerous to another mode of transportation? should not the city act in all earnestness to protect that more vulnerable mode of transportation from the more dangerous?

I’m only saying that the sign pictured above at Kent is essentially what Ontario told Hamilton is the best practice to do in such circumstance, and Ontario sets these laws for Hamilton.

Using the 2010 Ontario Traffic Manual for Pedestrian Crossing Facilities (Book 15), that intersection at Kent is not a candidate for a PXO, as the intersection is within 200m of both Locke & Queen signal-protected pedestrian crossings. Nor did it meet the pedestrian volume justification for an Intersection Pedestrian Signal in the 2007 Ontario Traffic Manual– Traffic Signals (Book 12) at the time of study.

Therefore the next option in Book 15 would be “Wherever possible, pedestrians are to be encouraged to use crossing locations with traffic control devices.” Which Hamilton did by putting up the sign, following the provincial recommendations.

It seems we (myself included) have been historically blaming City Staff for something that appears to be mostly the fault of the poor provincial interpretation of the HTA, as laid out in their own manuals for implementation.

Hamilton is not alone in its decisions on pedestrian infrastructure. So far a clear majority of Ontario cities I've looked into have made, and are making, similar pedestrian policy decisions as Hamilton. They are following the Ontario Traffic Manual's and perceive they cannot do much else legally without changes clarifying pedestrian right-of-way in Ontario Highway Traffic Act, which takes precedence over any local by-law.

That is an excellent analogy. It is absolutely exhausting how much the victim is blamed. Shock jock quality articles are quick to show up in our newspapers blaming everybody except the root causes. They are truly exhausting and sickening. This region is truly stuck in an Idiocracy right now. How will it play out? Hard to say. Suburban rage is a big problem in elections, and it's directed at the victims, not the root causes. The thought of living in Ford Nation almost makes me suicidal. I hope the renaissance of sane people continues to gather steam. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm on the run from the Brawndo people for recommending water on farm fields.

It is true that much of the blame goes to the recommended standards in the various traffic manuals, although this is distinct from the actually HTA which DOES say that drivers must yield to pedestrians crossing at uncontrolled intersections (and that pedestrians must ensure that motorists have time to come to a safe stop before starting to cross). The HTA also defines "undelineated" crosswalks at every intersection, although motorists and the manual tend to forget this.

The Pedestrian Traffic Manual does not help as it clearly prioritizes vehicle flow over pedestrians, as shown by the 200m rule and pedestrian volumes. The pedestrian volume rule is particularly bizarre as it does not make sense to assess potential demand from actual demand at a location where the city actively advises pedestrians not to cross.

However, in the past (this seems to be changing) the city has been inconsistent in following the Manuals: they applied standards rigidly when it came to limiting pedestrian facilities, while being rather lax or experimental in other ways.

For example, Barry Wellar of the University of Ottawa was shocked when he observed that almost no intersections had stop bars painted at stop signs in the Durand. The city also pioneered pedestrian activated traffic signals before these were in the Manuals, but then decided these expensive and non-standard devices would be the only ones they would install, instead of the usual PXOs. Because they are so expensive they were almost never installed.

There is also the fact that when the Durand Neighbourhood Association accepted the City's offer to co-host an 8-80 Cities workshop on improving walking facilities the Traffic Department refused to even respond to the resulting report by 8-80 with a list of recommended changes until our Councillor finally forced them, months later. The final response was to reject every last recommendation, even those Gil Penalosa called "petunias": simple low cost short term measures.

https://www.google.ca/url?sa=t&rct=j...

Eventually, they said they might be able to consider increasing parking on some arterial streets, at least during certain times of day, to provide a buffer to pedestrians. Again, there was no response, until after much reminding, months later we were told that, after carefully examining the matter, they determined that due to traffic volume there was not a single location in the Durand were parking could be increased, even off-peak! The fact that buffers have recently been introduced on Bay Street, near Central School shows this was not true.

In contrast with other municipalities, in Hamilton pedestrian crossings at unsignalized intersections were simply removed rather than being replaced or upgraded.

And, as I keep saying, the fact the painted crosswalks were left to fade rather than being removed is appalling negligence. There is also no excuse for setting pedestrian activated traffic lights to provide "minimal service" after spending $150k to install them after telling residents asking for a crosswalk that it was the only approved solution.

I am very happy that things are changing for the better, but until recently the pattern was one of obstruction, refusal to compromise and rigid adherence to policy when it suited the purpose of denying upgrades for pedestrians. This should not be glossed over.

Comment edited by kevlahan on 2013-11-12 16:06:56

I measured from the pedestrian crossings not the intersection centrepoint, as I inferred from the manual: Kent to Queen was approx. 183m, and Kent to Locke was approx 194m.

I'm not claiming the City has no fault, just that the provincial aspect is being overlooked, even though it's clearly a direct influencing factor in a municipalities pedestrian policy.

to put the province's guidelines in perspective: if the average walking speed is somewhere around 5 km/h and the average driving speed is around 50 km/h in the city then 200m is to a pedestrian what 2km is to a driver. if we had the same guidelines for drivers it would mean that if you were driving along james street north and wanted to cross king street you would have to drive either west to DUNDURN or east to beyond WENTWORTH just to cross king! and then of course you would need to drive back to james street. the city would never impose this type of restriction on a motorist so why do we expect pedestrians to simply accept this serious impediment to travel?

and this is just a time consideration which does factor in the added elements of weather, effort, or simple phycological barriers. if we want people to walk, bike, and take transit in this city we need to make it easier by using more realistic metrics.

The thing is (math and guidelines aside), pedestrians are legally allowed to cross at ANY crosswalk, whether marked or simply implied by perpendicular sidewalk intersections.

What we need to do is foster a culture where everyone understands their responsibilities. We can't put controls at every intersection, it would be a ludicrous waste.

Pedestrians are responsible for "looking both ways" so to speak - to make sure they cross only when there is a reasonable gap.

Most pedestrians do this as part of basic self preservation instinct.

The breakdown is with motorists who are generally unaware that they actually do have to stop for pedestrians who have started crossing - even if it's at an unmarked, unpainted intersection where they have "right of way" over other vehicles. This is not only a legal requirement but a basic social and safety obligation that goes along with living in a city with other people.

Putting signs up telling pedestrians to wait for a gap is an absolute waste of money.

Putting reminder signs for drivers has probably become necessary now - due to the blatant disregard for these laws shown by most of us when we drive. It's not that we are jerks, it's just that the city has encouraged this mentality through street design. It simply never occurs to us when we drive that when a pedestrian steps off the curb we must stop.

Just because most large population centres in ontario are guilty of the same historic bad design that we are doesn't mean we shouldn't do our best to change it.

Comment edited by seancb on 2013-11-13 10:03:41

If you are 200m from a crossing, under the standards, would that mean you are standing at a crossing?

I completely agree,

There is a finite amount of controls a municipality can be expected to purchase, install & maintain. What is currently being implemented is not a sustainable course of action for all pedestrian crossings.

Pedestrian right-of-way should be a given at any intersection.

Clarifying the HTA and correcting the provincial Manuals are mandatory steps to make this a reality in Ontario municipalities.

Sara, Are similar statistics prepared for other cities in Southwestern Ontario? Burlington, Milton, Brantford, London, Oakville using the same formula as Ontario vs. The City