Giving pedestrians a head start on vehicles improves safety, has no effect on traffic, city finds

City staff are giving pedestrian head starts at downtown intersections the green light, and are working to expand the safety measure to locations further from the core.

The four- to six-second delay for vehicles waiting at red lights — referred to as leading pedestrian intervals — were installed at 91 of downtown’s 111 intersections in March; 65 per cent at all four corners and the rest at two.

In a report that will be presented to city council’s public works committee Thursday, David Patman, the city’s manager of transportation planning, said analyzing video taken at 10 of the intersections, both before and after the interval was implemented, found a “reduction in conflict rate” between pedestrians and drivers.

“This lead time allowed pedestrians to establish themselves in the intersection and become more visible to drivers,” Patman wrote in the report, which was published online Friday. “It resulted in an increased time gap between conflicting vehicles and crossing pedestrians.”

The initiative also found “no significant changes” to traffic congestion downtown as a result of the short delay.

City staff are in the process of deciding how many of Winnipeg’s approximately 560 signals outside of downtown should have the interval installed.

Patman said they are considering the level of risk and possible safety improvements, using factors, including the volume of crossings by people on foot, and the the proximity to schools, hospitals, senior facilities and major transit stops, among others.

“Candidate locations should be carefully selected to ensure that safety benefits can be achieved without adding unnecessary delay to high-volume Winnipeg roads,” said Patman.

Public works chair Janice Lukes said expanding the project is a no-brainer.

“I love it, because it’s virtually no cost other than the staff figuring out where to do it, and then we just change the timing of the lights in the central station,” she said Friday.

Lukes said it’s important for historically dangerous streets for pedestrians be prioritized.

“When you look at the map that is in the transportation master plan, streets like McPhillips (have) all these dots of collisions,” she said.

The report said staff will consider safety studies, pedestrian volume and area with higher rates of poverty when deciding which streets to prioritize.

Some signals, like those on Goulet and Marion streets, have upcoming reviews already planned, and will receive the new timing during those reviews.

There is no added cost to implement leading pedestrian intervals and takes about 90 minutes per signal using existing staff. The project will be carried out over the next five years, with 60-75 new leading pedestrian intervals installed yearly.

Approximately 275 pedestrians were involved in vehicle accidents downtown, including 13 that resulted in major injuries and eight in fatalities from 2015 to 2022. The Winnipeg Police Service said nine pedestrians died last year after being hit by vehicles. In total, there were 17 fatal crashes.

Hillary Rosentreter, an advocate for safety improvements on Winnipeg streets, said she’s noticed a significant difference when walking or cycling across downtown since the leading pedestrian intervals were introduced.

“You’re able to get yourself into a position where you’re most of the way through the intersection, or at the very least, extremely visible before drivers are even meant to start moving,” she said. “Visibility is a big factor in safety.”

She’d like the expansion of the project reach as many streets as possible.

“It’s been nice to see… I think they benefit most (in) obviously heavily pedestrianized areas, but would be valuable everywhere that people walk, so anywhere that there’s a sidewalk, basically,” she said.

malak.abas@freepress.mb.ca