City crosses out scramble crossing

Winnipeg’s experiment with a pedestrian scramble crossing is coming to an end.

In June 2025, the city began a pedestrian scramble pilot project, which gave all motor vehicles a red light to let pedestrians cross the street in both directions at the same time at one intersection. While some scrambles also let pedestrians cross diagonally, Winnipeg’s did not.

The test of the intersection at King Street and Bannatyne Avenue will soon end, however, and return signals to standard operations, a city report notes.

“It was only moderately effective at this location because it was not used often enough. Pedestrian scrambles work best in places with much higher pedestrian traffic,” a city report notes.

No other pedestrian scrambles, which aim to improve pedestrian safety, are planned at this point.

Coun. Janice Lukes, chairwoman of public works, said it makes sense to move on from the idea for now.

“There is no intersection in the City of Winnipeg that would optimize what a pedestrian scramble is meant to do. When you’ve got a city with a population far greater than Winnipeg, they work,” said Lukes (Waverley West). “There’s no intersection in Winnipeg that has 2,000 people an hour and that’s what pedestrian scrambles are supposed to support.”

The intersection in question had about 2,000 pedestrians over 12 hours during the study.

The city report notes using pedestrian scrambles at intersections without very high pedestrian traffic can “increase delay for all users, reduce compliance, and limit the intended safety benefits.”

While the report found some pedestrians felt safer with the scramble, others felt the intersection had been safe prior to the pilot project.

City staff also found the intersection had a good safety record before the pilot, noting it had only one pedestrian collision in the last 10 years.

joyanne.pursaga@freepress.mb.ca

X: @joyanne_pursaga