No right turns on red and signals giving pedestrians a head start on cars will keep coming as Hamilton has seen a decline in pedestrian-involved incidents in 2023.
So far, the city has recorded two pedestrian deaths this year, compared to last year when a total of 11 pedestrian fatalities occurred.
The city’s manager of transportation operations says the effect of recent safety changes will be outlined in greater detail in an annual closure report, set to be presented to councillors in late August.
“Within that document, we identify the top ten intersections in the city that have the most number of collisions and then the top ten road segments … that have the most number of collisions,” Mike Field said.
Aside from signal alterations, one less lane on Main Street and exclusive HSR bus drop-off and pick-up zones appear to be working in cooperation with other multiple safety measures introduced earlier this year.
Field says “better visibility” within intersections and bus zones are likely contributing and statistically are expected to reduce the number of injury and fatal collisions by about 60 per cent.
Leading pedestrian intervals are turning out to be one of the most effective changes bulking up the city’s Vision Zero initiatives – targeting zero road fatalities.
“That’s probably the best … where pedestrians get to cross the road before any vehicles move,” Field explained. “There’s a lot of advantages to doing that, obviously, the pedestrian gets to start moving before any vehicles are entering or moving through the intersection.”
Of the 11 pedestrian fatalities in 2022, nine were connected with seven incidents on city roadways. Two particular occurrences early last year spurred on the dramatic altering of the two major roads in the city centre.
At the top of the list is the March 19, 2022, collision that saw four people lose lives, including three pedestrians on King Street East near the Delta intersection.
On March 30, 2022, a teen was struck and critically injured in a collision at the intersection of Main Street West and Dundurn Street South.
The two deaths so far this year include a 15-year-old who was struck in an Upper Paradise Road hit-and-run in January and a 77-year-old who was hit by an SUV on Fennell Avenue in July.
Two annual reports, in 2020 and 2021, identified Main Street West and King Street West at Dundurn Street South as intersections with a high frequency of collisions.
“I’m hopeful that we’re seeing the aggregate benefits of all those things that we’re doing across the city to improve the safety of not only pedestrians but of all road users,” said Field.
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