Six days after a pedestrian was taken to the hospital after being struck at a crosswalk, the Mayor of Prince Rupert announced that at last, changes to our city crosswalks are coming.
The main culprit is along McBride and Second Avenue, a road that cuts right into the heart of downtown, a road that is part of the highway managed by the province.
This year alone, four pedestrians at crosswalks have been struck by cars, three of those collisions occurred on Second Avenue. Stats from last year’s collisions tell a similar story.
READ MORE: Visibility improvements coming for Prince Rupert’s downtown streets
City council has let on about talks with the ministry of transportation, but after months of hearing nothing, we learn the province is willing to do its part in pedestrian safety, even in the furthest, darkest, corners of the map.
New LED bulbs to improve visibility, countdown timers at crosswalks, new durable long-life paint, removing a downhill crosswalk across from the Chevron station — where there have been two collisions in the past year — safer intersections, even a possible roundabout at the McBride and Second Avenue intersection.
No, all this good government news isn’t because the mayor is trying to impress his constituents with the upcoming election. He doesn’t have to do that anyway since there’s no other contender. Our automatic mayor recently returned from the Union of B.C. Municipalities, a conference where small political fries like us up here, get to meet with the big wigs from the south and tell them how we really feel about the work they’re doing or not doing.
The stats don’t lie, and the province can no longer turn a blind eye to improving crosswalk safety in Prince Rupert.
READ MORE: Pedestrian struck in crosswalk on Second Avenue
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