Toronto got its third scramble last week, this one at the intersection of Bay and Bloor.
The
scramble -- an intersection that includes an all-way pedestrian green in between the usual red-green traffic cycle -- was approved at the same time as its predecessors, at Yonge and Dundas and Yonge and Bloor, by city council in 2007.
The cost of transforming the intersection was $22,425, which Fiona Chapman, who is in charge of pedestrian projects for the city's transportation department, says included "on-site programming of the traffic controller, connection of the APS (Audible Pedestrian Signals) units, fabrication of all signs,
installation of the 'No Right on Red' signs, installation of the
pedestrian scramble phase signage, advance warning signs and the removal
of existing prohibition signs, and installation of 12 diagonal zebra
stripes."
"We had a set of criteria that identified the four that council approved," says Chapman. The fourth she refers to was meant for Bay and Dundas, an idea that's since been scrapped after deciding it would create streetcar delays. "Primarily, it was the number of pedestrians, and the number of vehicles that are trying to turn" that create conflicts between cars and people on foot.
The fourth now being considered would be at the corner of St George and Harbord/Hoskin.
Writer: Bert Archer
Source: Fiona Chapman
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