Flagging it: Halifax council to debate crosswalk safety guidelines

Crosswalk flags from some of the 150+ installation locations throughout the Halifax Regional Municipality could soon disappear.

On Tuesday, regional council will debate whether or not to go forward with an administrative order that would see the removal of 56 flag installations.

Councillor Bill Karsten said it’s time the municipality takes measures into their own hands.

“My own personal opinion is that there’s merit for what the flags have done for this municipality in terms of moving the issue forward, allowing council to recognise the visibility of crosswalks is of utmost importance,” said Karsten, adding he would like to see staff come back with alternatives to the flags.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "My own personal opinion is that there's merit for what the flags have done for this municipality in terms of moving the issue forward, allowing council to recognise the visibility of crosswalks is of utmost importance," said Karsten, adding he would like to see staff come back with alternatives to the flags.

READ MORE: More than half of Halifax accidents happen at crosswalks

“I know that, for example, the town of Yarmouth has beautiful lime green florescent crosswalk signs that would serve the same purpose, and I would lean more in the direction of having a permanent, municipally-run program instead of this ad hoc program because after all, safety is our responsibility. ”

According to data collected by the municipality in 2016, the flags were only being used five per cent of the time, mostly by children and seniors. As for the overall effectiveness of the flags, they found that there was very little difference (~3%) in driver compliance at crosswalks with a flag versus those without.

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However, advocates disagree with these findings and say the flags go a long way when it comes to making people feel safe.

“We certainly have some issues with the methodology. We don’t necessarily think they were studying the right issues or comparing apples to apples,” said Matt Spurway, vice-president with the Crosswalk Safety Society of Nova Scotia.

“At the end of the day, a crosswalk flag is there for people to use if it makes them feel safer.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "At the end of the day, a crosswalk flag is there for people to use if it makes them feel safer."

READ MORE: Halifax police hand out reflective armbands to promote crosswalk safety

Spurway said his organisation would have liked if the municipality consulted them before drafting the administrative order, adding they’d like to work collaboratively to find other solutions.

“We think now is the time to continue to invest in anything that can help, whether that’s crosswalk flags, reflective strips, street design, we’re interested in all of it,” Spurway said.

“We don’t think that city staff or city council should be forcing the removal of flags their citizens have said are necessary and are using.”

The order would mean that moving forward, flags would only be permitted at uncontrolled crosswalks –crosswalks where motorists do not have to stop for a stop sign or traffic signal – with pavement markings and side-mounted signs.

Flags would no longer be allowed at locations with pedestrian-activated flashing beacons or unmarked locations.