The City of Montreal is hoping to make intersections safer for pedestrians and drivers.
The Plante administration will spend several months analyzing 60 intersections, including the sites where pedestrians were fatally struck.
Mayor Valerie Plante said in many cases, she expects recommendations to give people more time to cross the street. With the population of Montreal and Quebec ageing, ensuring pedestrians can safely cross the road is essential, she said.
“Drivers in general, we've got to be patient. The street belongs to everybody, whether you're in your car, driving a truck, walking, cycling. People need to be patient and respect the lights,” said Plante.
Proposals that will be examined include adding sidewalk bulges to narrow a street at intersections, making crosswalks more visible, and slowing down traffic.
"For us as an administration, it's how do we make sure that people have enough time to go across the street, which we know in many, many cases it hasn't been analyzed or changed in years," said Plante. “We know now that we have more elders in the city, it takes longer, so we need to adapt.”
Lengthening the time to cross the street is long overdue, said Francois Dandurand of the Association for Active Mobility.
“I was a bit saddened to see that at the intersection where the pedestrian was crushed by a truck, it's still six seconds to cross six lanes of traffic – approximately 22 metres – so even a fast jogger can't make it before it turns to the no pedestrian light,” he said.
Some studies find extending time at crosswalks – even by 10 seconds – could have a significant impact on car traffic.
Plante said she is concerned with that.
“There will be impacts if we prioritize pedestrians,” she said, adding that she hopes the new measures will make everyone safer if they follow the rules.
The city hopes to implement changes by the end of the year.
