* 17th Avenue S.W. and 4th Street S.W.: 45 total pedestrian collisions
* 6455 Macleod Trail S: 41 total pedestrian collisions
* 3625 Shaganappi Trail N.W.: 39 total pedestrian collisions
* 17th Avenue S.E. and 36th Street S.E.: 34 total pedestrian collisions
* 14th Street S.W. and 17th Avenue S.W.: 34 total pedestrian collisions
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How does Calgary compare to other major North American cities for pedestrian collisions? In terms of car accidents it always feels like we must be in dead last because I see so much stupidity on a daily basis, but it never pans out.
God, Druh Farrell is such a twit. On CBC, she talks a lot about making drivers pay more attention, but not a peep about her beloved pedestrians. Because, god knows, pedestrians never jaywalk or rush against a don't walk sign and cause these incidents.
God, Druh Farrell is such a twit. On CBC, she talks a lot about making drivers pay more attention, but not a peep about her beloved pedestrians. Because, god knows, pedestrians never jaywalk or rush against a don't walk sign and cause these incidents.
She doesn't care about pedestrian safety, she just hates cars. She won't stfu until we all ride bicycles to our hemp shops, drum circles, and art studios
Last edited by btimbit; 02-24-2014 at 06:56 PM.
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Location: Close enough to make a beer run during a TV timeout
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Resolute 14
God, Druh Farrell is such a twit. On CBC, she talks a lot about making drivers pay more attention, but not a peep about her beloved pedestrians. Because, god knows, pedestrians never jaywalk or rush against a don't walk sign and cause these incidents.
Yep, I still say that's the biggest thing about Calgary- how pedestrians will even legally cross without looking. Sure, you have the right of way. But if you are walking parallel to a street and then do an abrupt turn and just start crossing, you risk getting hit.
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God, Druh Farrell is such a twit. On CBC, she talks a lot about making drivers pay more attention, but not a peep about her beloved pedestrians. Because, god knows, pedestrians never jaywalk or rush against a don't walk sign and cause these incidents.
Both sides have to take their share of the blame. I can sympathise with Druh to an extent as an environment has been created for drivers where they have sole domain. This has allowed them to become quite complacent to the point where they can get away with paying so little attention as potential conflicts have been removed or rerouted. With many roads being turned back into multi-modal streets, a certain amount of re-schooling must take place.
However, this shouldn't give pedestrians a free pass and create a similar environment as cars have been afforded but for pedestrians instead.
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“Such suburban models are being rationalized as ‘what people want,’ when in fact they are simply what is most expedient to produce. The truth is that what people want is a decent place to live, not just a suburban version of a decent place to live.”
The spectrum of idiocy that pedestrians cover is just as broad as drivers. I've complained about every possible driving transgression, and for every notch on the gravestone, there's a similar one for pedestrians.
Dumbasses that walk right into the street while on the phone or texting. Idiots that punch the magical pedestrian light flasher, and turn 90 degrees and start crossing without looking to see if the 5 ton truck 10 feet away has time to stop. ######s that go running across a street 15 seconds into the flashing hand, right before a car is about to make a left turn. Morons wearing headphones that step off a curb to pass a large group of other pedestrians going the other direction, without checking to see if there's a car coming up in the curb lane. There's just so much stupid in this world. So.Much.Stupid.
Both sides have to take their share of the blame. I can sympathise with Druh to an extent as an environment has been created for drivers where they have sole domain. This has allowed them to become quite complacent to the point where they can get away with paying so little attention as potential conflicts have been removed or rerouted. With many roads being turned back into multi-modal streets, a certain amount of re-schooling must take place.
However, this shouldn't give pedestrians a free pass and create a similar environment as cars have been afforded but for pedestrians instead.
Both sides certainly have to shoulder responsibility, I agree. But the one thing that stands out for me on that map is that nearly every intersection with higher numbers of incidents are spots where jaywalking and crossing against Don't Walk signs are serious problem. That doesn't excuse the drivers - I know in most of these areas that I have to be extra vigilant but the problem you present is very real - but one of the solutions towards re-schooling people would be to park plain clothes cops at some of these locations and ticket pedestrians who don't follow the signs. The entrance to Chinook LRT and several of those downtown intersections would be a fantastic place to start.
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Both sides certainly have to shoulder responsibility, I agree. But the one thing that stands out for me on that map is that nearly every intersection with higher numbers of incidents are spots where jaywalking and crossing against Don't Walk signs are serious problem. That doesn't excuse the drivers - I know in most of these areas that I have to be extra vigilant but the problem you present is very real - but one of the solutions towards re-schooling people would be to park plain clothes cops at some of these locations and ticket pedestrians who don't follow the signs. The entrance to Chinook LRT and several of those downtown intersections would be a fantastic place to start.
Jaywalking is a peculiar issue. It was a pedestrian infraction that was created to help remove one of the potential conflicts I alluded to earlier. This is a shame as jaywalking helped turn streets into roads that are the realm of automobiles when it could have been aiding the flow of both pedestrian and vehicular traffic all the while. For instance, consider the time savings for the pedestrian who doesn't have to push the button at a traffic control device and then wait for a ‘Walk’ sign but rather accurately judges the flow of cross-traffic and cross once it is safe to do so. Add to this the time savings for vehicles that come after the lull in vehicular traffic that creates a safe opportunity for the pedestrian to cross the street but has to wait as the signal only turns red once the once distant vehicles approach the crosswalk.
The act of crossing the street at undesignated crossings can also be safer for pedestrians and easier for drivers. By crossing at an unmarked mid-block crossing instead of a crossing at an intersection, pedestrians can eliminate the potential conflict with vehicles turning right at intersections where their visibility might be limited/hindered. However, jaywalking does require a level of responsibility from both pedestrians and drivers. Pedestrians have to be paying full attention and use adequate judgment when crossing the road while drivers need to be constantly alert to all elements. It can be done but…
I should point out that while I jaywalk, there are some roads across which pedestrians should not be attempting to jaywalk. Last week the BBC had a good article on the history of Jaywalking.
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“Such suburban models are being rationalized as ‘what people want,’ when in fact they are simply what is most expedient to produce. The truth is that what people want is a decent place to live, not just a suburban version of a decent place to live.”
Pedestrian Accident Map: Calgary 1996-2012
