These should really exist throughout the entire city. The Winnipeg Public Service has installed two new Pedestrian Countdown Signals at all four crosswalks at two busy intersections; Osborne Street at River Avenue, and Portage Avenue at Smith Street.
The purpose of the pilot project is to evaluate the field performance of the devices within the traffic signals system, as well as to receive feedback on the operation from users. Pedestrian Countdown Signals are intended to provide pedestrians with more information to assist them in their decision-making process when crossing a street.
“As an added safety measure when crossing busy intersections in our City, these signals provide pedestrians, cyclists and those with limited mobility with an accurate gauge to make prudent choices,” said Mayor Sam Katz. “The installation of these signals will deter individuals from making hasty decisions and improve safety for both vehicular and pedestrian traffic.”
The City’s first Pedestrian Countdown Signal was installed at the intersection of Portage Avenue and Donald Street in June 2012.
The Pedestrian Countdown Signal is a numeric countdown display mounted below the existing pedestrian signal (walking figure/flashing hand/solid hand) that indicates the number of seconds remaining for a pedestrian to complete the crossing.
Installation costs approximately $10,000 per intersection. The City is currently in the process of creating installation criteria to evaluate the potential for city-wide deployment of the pedestrian countdown signals.
