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Three pedestrian-activated crosswalk lights to improve pedestrian safety in Sidney

Town staff promise additional improvements in the future as part of Active Transportation Plan
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Pedestrian-activated crosswalk lights are coming to three intersections in Sidney including Resthaven Road and Brethour Avenue. The other locations are Seventh Street and Brethour Avenue and Fifth Street and Mills Road. (Wolf Depner/News Staff0

The Town of Sidney plans to install three pedestrian-activated crosswalk lights by the end of 2022.

The three lights will operate at Seventh Street and Brethour Avenue, Resthaven Road and Brethour Avenue and Fifth Street and Mills Road.

Chief administrative officer Randy Humble said residents can expect more in the future, with public feedback and the Active Transportation Plan guiding choices.

“The three pedestrian-activated crosswalk lights planned for this year were prioritized in part because they are en route to Sidney Elementary School,” he said. “We have received community feedback on the need to make these existing crosswalks more visible.”

RELATED: New plan aims to make transportation more active in Sidney

Funding is coming from both Sidney’s municipal budget and ICBC. Humble said the municipality has budgeted a total of $15,000 to purchase and install pedestrian-activated crosswalk lights. “The total cost of each unit is approximately $7,000 plus installation,” he said. “ICBC is covering 50 per cent of the cost of each unit ($3,500 per unit).”

The installation unfolds against greater efforts within Sidney, the Saanich Peninsula and society-at-large to improve more active forms of transportation in the face of climate change but also prepare for large demographic changes as the population ages.

Research has found that an aging population requires different measures to enhance pedestrian safety.


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wolfgang.depner@peninsulanewsreview.com



Wolf Depner

About the Author: Wolf Depner

I joined the national team with Black Press Media in 2023 from the Peninsula News Review, where I had reported on Vancouver Island's Saanich Peninsula since 2019.
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