Regina man captures drivers blocking pedestrian crosswalk in YouTube video

A concerned Regina resident is frustrated with cars blocking the pedestrian crosswalk at Albert Street and 11th Avenue. So he made a YouTube video showing how often the intersection is blocked.

Gerald Heinrichs works just a block away from the intersection. He regularly walks along that particular street, and said cars consistently block his path.

“You’re seeing pedestrians having to do quite a bit of shuffling moving around. It’s not a safe place to cross for pedestrians,” Heinrichs said.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "You're seeing pedestrians having to do quite a bit of shuffling moving around. It's not a safe place to cross for pedestrians," Heinrichs said.

According to Heinrichs, the problem isn’t new and has been going on for years. It was only a few months ago that he decided to capture it on video.

His two-and-a-half minute YouTube video, “Dicey Crosswalk in Regina”, captures mothers zig-zagging through traffic with their children and large vehicles blocking entire lanes of traffic.

Heinrichs said it’s not just a pet peeve, but also a safety issue.

“It’s a problem from time to time for families, for mothers with children, for elderly, disabled,” he said.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "It's a problem from time to time for families, for mothers with children, for elderly, disabled," he said.

According to Heinrichs, it’s a combination of driver behaviour and the timing of the lights.

He believes the traffic lights on 11th Ave. are not properly synced with the other traffic lights on Saskatchewan Drive and 12th Ave., causing a backlog of cars. He wants the City of Regina to look into it.

“I hope the city roadways will take a look at it. There has to be some kind of a solution here,” he said

In a statement, the City said the issue is related to driver behaviour and enforcement of the traffic bylaw provisions.

According to the Regina Police Service, this type of behaviour can be difficult to monitor.

“It can be a little tough. If we have a police officer there to witness the infraction then we still have to be able to safely stop the motorist and the motorist and then do an investigation,” spokesperson Elizabeth Popowich said.

Heinrichs said he hasn’t caught any collisions on camera, but he’s afraid he might.

“I don’t want to think about that. If something like that happens, it’s not a good picture often,” he said.

According to SGI preliminary 2015 statistics, there have been 10 collisions at that intersection last year. Two resulted in injuries and none involving pedestrians.