The City of Barrie has installed a new type of pedestrian crossing — called a crossover — on Mapleview Drive near St. Paul’s Crescent.
The crossover is the first of its kind in Barrie. At a crossover, vehicles must yield to pedestrians who are crossing and wait until pedestrians have fully crossed the street.
Barrie’s development services have been planning for the installation of two pedestrian crossovers this year — the first on Mapleview Drive near the Bistro 6 development and the second at Bell Farm Road and Alliance Boulevard as part of the Bell Farm Road construction this fall.
Once the first two crossovers are installed, there may be others implemented at more city locations based on the success of the pilot project.
Officials say crossovers will help to create safer neighbourhoods and improve active transportation options.
Crossovers are different from crosswalks, where drivers don’t need to wait until pedestrians fully reach the other side of the road. Crossovers are also often at a stretch of road where there isn’t an intersection.
Penalties for drivers who endanger pedestrians by failing to yield at crossovers include fines of up to $1,000 and the loss of four demerit points. These fines are doubled in community safety zones.