The City of Halifax says they’re doing what they can to promote crosswalk safety for everyone on the road.
"We're really focused on three pillars – education, enforcement, as well as engineering upgrades," says HRM spokesperson Tiffany Chase.
Thirteen vehicle-pedestrian collisions took place in the Halifax Regional Municipality in June. From January to June, Halifax police say 55 per cent of the collisions happened in crosswalks.
"We're asking pedestrians and drivers to pay attention, it's a shared responsibility," says Const. Diane Woodworth, spokesperson for the Halifax Regional Police.
Statistics show pedestrian-vehicle collisions have increased. Zebra crossings have been painted at all uncontrolled crosswalks, and a new campaign, Heads Up Halifax, raises awareness for safety practices when in and around crosswalks.
"We've extended the crossing times at all of our controlled crosswalks for pedestrians to give them a bit more time to actually cross the street when the light in is their favour," says Chase.
Last year community members began installing flags at crosswalks throughout the municipality. So far, 108 sets have been installed.
Police say they look for trends in where pedestrian-vehicle collisions happen. They say if it's more often in one particular area, traffic enforcement will go to the scene and observe patterns.
"A person versus a vehicle, you know, there's no competition there, so always take a second look," says Const. Woodworth.
Police say there have been no fatal pedestrian-vehicle collisions this year, but several resulting in severe to minor injuries.
With files from CTV Atlantic’s Suzette Belliveau.
