Flashing yellow lights at the crosswalk in front of Carlton High are now operational. (Michael Joel-Hansen/paNOW staff)

By Alison Sandstrom

Student Safety

New lights at problem crossing

Oct 30, 2019 | 2:12 PM

Flashing yellow beacons have been installed at the crosswalk at Sixth Ave. E. outside Carlton High School.

The city hopes the new lights, which came with a $30,000 price tag, will improve safety at the busy crosswalk which has been the site of several collisions.

The city weighed multiple options for the crossing before ultimately deciding on this in July.

“I’m excited that it’s finally up,” Mayor Greg Dionne told paNOW. “You know that crosswalk has been a controversy of council for years and we hope this idea and this remedy will work.”

Dionne said the city will continue to monitor the situation, including the potential for traffic back-up on the busy thoroughfare.

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“I don’t think it will be [a problem] because I think the kids will be respectful. We’ll see, if it doesn’t work, we’ll have to do something else,” he said.

When pedestrians press a button, the lights will be activated for 20 seconds, warning vehicles that people may be crossing. Once the pedestrians have cleared the intersection cars are free to proceed.

City crews do some final work on the new lights on Tuesday. (Michael Joel-Hansen/paNOW staff)

Director of public works, Wes Hicks said he didn’t anticipate any issues, noting that this type of crosswalk with flashing lights is common in North American cities.

“It is an arterial roadway so we have a significant amount of traffic but we also have the largest high school in Saskatchewan right next door and thus we have very high pedestrian traffic, so hopefully this improves the safety both for pedestrians and vehicles,” he said.

Councillors debated various options for the crosswalk including a red, yellow and green half-signal with “walk”/”don’t walk” lights, something Robert Bratvold, director of the Saskatchewan Rivers Public School Division had supported as what he believed was the best option for the crosswalk. Still, he said he was pleased with the recent installation of the new lights.

“I’m optimistic, I still hold some concerns that I think an ideal solution is different than this but I still applaud the city for taking these steps and moving forward,” he said.

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alison.sandstrom@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @alisandstrom