St. Albert scramble crossing opens to mixed reviews

The City of St. Albert is testing out a new kind of intersection crossing – a scramble, also known as a criss cross intersection.

The concept is simple: when traffic is flowing, pedestrians are not allowed to cross the street; when vehicles are stopped in all four directions, pedestrians can cross the intersection in every direction, including diagonally.

“We’re really trying to take our downtown and improve walkability and the interest people have in visiting our downtown,” Mayor Nolan Crouse said.

The scramble at the intersection of Perron and St. Anne streets was installed Friday; the pilot project will run until Sept. 30.

“We’ve had lots of close calls with pedestrians. It’s an intersection that has a lot of right turns… and people roll into the intersection, the crosswalk quite a bit,” Crouse said.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "We've had lots of close calls with pedestrians. It's an intersection that has a lot of right turns… and people roll into the intersection, the crosswalk quite a bit," Crouse said.

The mayor admits it may be a steep learning curve and said the pilot project will force pedestrians and motorists alike to change their habits. Vehicles are not supposed to turn right on red lights but Global News saw dozens of drivers do that on Sunday while filming.

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“My skepticism would be that you really can’t change the behaviour of a driver,” Crouse said.

Scrambles already exist in other cities across the country and the world. The world famous Shibuya crossing in Tokyo sees hundreds of people use it every single day. Calgary installed a scramble in the Eau Claire neighbourhood in 2008 while Banff opened a scramble in 2014.

Toronto implemented one at the busy Yonge and Dundas intersection in 2008; it also removed one from Bay and Bloor in 2015 after a report found it negatively impacted motorists.

Crouse said the new intersection crossing will add roughly 25 seconds to commutes.

Councillor Cam MacKay called the scramble an interesting idea but said he is skeptical about it and concerned about the impact on motorists.

“One pedestrian could really stop the whole intersection from flowing. Most of the time, it might slow traffic down too much,” he said.

“I don’t think it’s going to be a panacea to the problems we have at that intersection. I don’t know if there’s enough demand for that at most times.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "I don't think it's going to be a panacea to the problems we have at that intersection. I don't know if there's enough demand for that at most times."

There was also mixed reaction from residents who regularly travel downtown.

Maureen Rooney has lived in St. Albert for 24 years; she said the scramble makes sense.

“It encourages pedestrian walking, pedestrian travel. It just encourages us to get to where we’re going,” she said.

“It’s just nice to get to the corner you want to get to and get around faster.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "It's just nice to get to the corner you want to get to and get around faster."

Dean Waines crosses Perron and St. Anne streets on foot twice a day, six days a week. He said the new crossing is a drastic change and is unsure whether he likes it or not.

Waines is also unsure whether the traffic in St. Albert requires a scramble.

“This is not a busy enough intersection, I feel, for this new way of crossing the street,” he said.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "This is not a busy enough intersection, I feel, for this new way of crossing the street," he said.

Resident James Milton said he thinks the scramble will make both pedestrians and drivers more aware of their surroundings. He is not bothered by potential delays as a result of the new intersection crossing.

“It could slow me down a little bit. But at the same time, I’m happy I’ll be more aware of any potential hazards with people crossing and that type of thing,” he said.

“I’m always a little nervous that a cyclist is going to come across. If you’re checking here and there and someone comes across unexpectedly, you’re a little more nervous in situations like this where there’s no control.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "I'm always a little nervous that a cyclist is going to come across. If you're checking here and there and someone comes across unexpectedly, you're a little more nervous in situations like this where there's no control."

Crouse said the city has already received one complaint about the scramble. He said traffic staff will evaluate the intersection by observing pedestrian and vehicular behaviour then make a decision later this year on whether the scramble should become permanent.