Crosswalk collisions continue after deadliest year for pedestrians

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This article was published 22/01/2020 (2085 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A man hit by a car near a crosswalk on Ness Avenue on Wednesday — the second collision near a crosswalk on that street in recent weeks — comes following a year that saw the highest number of pedestrian deaths ever in the province.

And the city is already looking to see if improvements need to be made at one of the crossings, according to a city councillor.

Brian Smiley, a spokesman for Manitoba Public Insurance, confirmed on Wednesday that 17 Manitoba pedestrians — nine in Winnipeg, three in other urban centres and five in rural areas — died after being hit by vehicles in 2019.

Until last year, the most pedestrian deaths in a single year in this province was 16 in 2007, Smiley said.

“Both pedestrians and motorists are entitled to use the roadways. It’s hoped both groups are safety aware and act accordingly. One death is too many,” he said.

According to MPI statistics, on average about 12 pedestrians are killed by vehicles in the province. About half of them are killed at an intersection, while one in 10 deaths occur while they are walking on the road or crossing between intersections.

On Wednesday, a man was hit by a car in the Sturgeon Heights area at about 6:30 a.m. The man was rushed from the site in front of Sturgeon Heights Collegiate in critical condition, but later was upgraded to stable, police said.

The stretch of Ness Avenue was closed following the accident, but reopened later in the morning.

Last month, two teenaged pedestrians were struck by a car as they walked across the street at the crosswalk at Ness Avenue at Woodlawn Street.

The teens were taken to hospital in unstable condition, but later upgraded to stable.

Area Coun. Scott Gillingham (St. James) said on Wednesday he will look further into how the latest collision occurred.

The city is already exploring whether the crossing where the teens were injured needs to be upgraded with eye-level, flashing LED lights, Gillingham said. That type of system was installed at the crosswalk on St. Anne’s Road in the wake of a 2018 collision where an eight-year-old child was struck and killed while crossing the busy street at Varennes Avenue.

“They’ve been installed at a handful of locations,” he said. “The department is looking to see if that is an appropriate place to put them. Now I will be looking into this one to try to understand the events surrounding this collision.

“Unfortunately, it is another reminder that motorists really need to be aware while they are driving and that they are driving to conditions, and for pedestrians to always be aware of the vehicles around them.”

kevin.rollason@freepress.mb.ca