The city of Winnipeg is helping make 100 intersections in downtown Winnipeg safer for pedestrians crossing the street.
They are implementing Leading Pedestrian Intervals (LPIs) starting Monday, Mar. 10. This change will give people crossing the busy intersections a head start before cars enter the intersection.
“Early results speak for themselves – a 13 percent pedestrian crash reduction and a 35 percent reduction of near-miss events,” said Janice Lukes, Chairperson of the Standing Policy Committee on Public Works (SPC-PW) in a press release.
For these 100 intersections, pedestrians will have the walk signal five seconds ahead of the vehicle’s green light.
The LPI’s were rolled out by the Council-approved Road Safety Strategic Action Plan in hopes that drivers will be more aware of pedestrians and in turn cause less pedestrian-related accidents.
“I’m very pleased to see our road safety branch up and running, and taking action on making our roads safer,” said Lukes. “I look forward to seeing LPI continue to be installed and make these improvements elsewhere.”
The city is also reminding people that pedestrians have the right of way and to watch for people, especially when they’re turning right on a red.