Concerns remain as Charleswood pedestrian crossing opens

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 20/08/2019 (2254 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Charleswood residents who’ve been asking for safety lights at Grant Avenue and Cathcart Street for years aren’t completely satisfied with a new pedestrian crossing that opened Tuesday.

Dozens of senior citizens from nearby buildings gathered to learn about the crossing, but worried the light doesn’t last long enough to walk across, or get them to the nearby bus stop.

They asked area Coun. Kevin Klein for four-way lights, which he said he’d look into.

But, Klein said, he believes the “half-signal” — which turns lights on Grant red only when someone hits a button indicating they want to cross — is safer than regular crosswalks, which drivers are “immune” to.

“These, to me anyway, are much safer… you’ll find, especially with younger people because for some reason they don’t teach the hand (signal) anymore,” Klein said. “When you push a crosswalk, people start to walk… drivers don’t necessarily stop all the time.”

Half-signals are already in place at Osborne Street and Granite Way, Wardlaw Avenue and Osborne Street, and Notre Dame Avenue at Sherburn Street. A half-signal at St. Anne’s Road and Varennes Avenue was discussed after eight-year-old Surafiel Musse Tesfamariam was fatally hit by a car at a pedestrian crossing in February.

But the people who gathered from nearby senior’s homes and daycares at the Charleswood intersection want more.

“I think it’ll be worse,” said Chris Tomszak. “They told us they were going to put lights in on the north and south, and there’s no lights. This is a problem.”

The rules on left turns aren’t clear and could cause problems for traffic and people trying to cross, she added.

Several drivers made left turns while people were in the intersection testing out the crossing during Tuesday’s launch.

Her mother, Bernice Tomszak, is also worried about crossing Cathcart without four-way lights.

“There’s no crossing here, for the bus,” she said.

West Park Manor executive director Ruben Wollman said the seniors home has been part of several petitions asking for a light on the site, and is happy action is being taken.

But he said he’s also worried about left turns, especially for a collector bus many residents use, and crossing Cathcart to get to stops on either side.

“We hope that the City of Winnipeg will give that some attention sooner rather than later,” Wollman said.

tvanderhart@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @tessavanderhart