Derek Cameron was fed up with unsafe pedestrians pedestrian crossings in Saskatoon, with cars parking up to the crosswalk at Main Street and Lake Crescent, so he decided to do something about it.
Main Street Crossing, painted by Derek Cameron.
“One, it’s against the city’s bylaw not to stop within 15 feet of a crosswalk, but more importantly, there’s a reason bylaws exist, and that’s to protect sight lines. So if there’s a car right up to the crosswalk, it’s harder for you as a pedestrian to see a vehicle coming hard toward you.” Cameron.
He took his display to social media where he says he got a strong reaction from cyclists and pedestrians in the area.
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He has since taken down the post, but thinks people benefited from the painted lines.
“When I painted it, for one thing, the number of people who would use that space to park dropped to zero… And then on the flip side of that, because you’re able to get out on the road more confidently, vehicles absolutely noticed and slowed down faster than in other situations I’ve experienced as well.”
The safety painting of the crossing was done in May and removed a few weeks ago. He says he can’t fault the city for cleaning up his work, “Although I will say, from my experience, it seemed to work well.”
In a statement, the city says painting or placing signs on public property is not permitted, and while they appreciate residents’ desire to improve safety, any road markings must be approved by the city.
Cameron is still looking to introduce more safety for pedestrians in Saskatoon.
“The city, in some places, you know, has put in more permanent concrete infrastructure, say, in front of Brunskill School … I would say the pace of that is pretty slow, concrete is expensive, so I think it’s worth it for the city to find ways to allow the formalization of lower-cost, community-driven solutions.”
Concrete infrastructure outside Brunskill Elementary School.
The city says staff spoke directly with those responsible and they will be billed for the full cost of removing the paint.
Watch the video above to see more of Derek Cameron’s crossing and how the city is responding.
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