| Abstract |
The 95 Street and 108A Avenue intersection is located within a commercial area, with many businesses, pedestrians, deliveries and loading. The location has an existing overhead flasher, but in spite of that, concerns persisted about the safety of pedestrians crossing 95 Street, a minor arterial. In addition, 108A Avenue was planned to be reconstructed as a bike route. At first, the City decided to move forward with the highest level of control, a pedestrian signal but eventually questioned the conventional wisdom of a signal being the safest option. The signal would create more delay for both vehicles and active modes, would that achieve good compliance, which is key to safety, or provide a high level of service to active modes? Also while it does stop through traffic, will it improve left turn safety?The City decided to test a different solution, which was a centre island refuge with curb extensions on either side. This allowed pedestrians and cyclists to cross in two stages, while also protecting sightlines from all the parking and loading. The project includes a robust evaluation, including measurements of vehicle and pedestrian delay and driver yielding behavior. The presentation will discuss feedback from the public and businesses, the evaluation results, and the subsequent redesign, lessons learned, and final decision.
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