“The road is kind of wide there.” This was part of expert testimony in the trial of a driver who’d left the scene after hitting an elderly woman while she crossed the street. One of the jury, I listened closely as the policeman explained that the width of the street contributed to the accident. Because the street was wide, the elderly woman was in the roadway longer than she would have been otherwise.
Curb bump-outs can make streets safer for pedestrians: the “squeezed” roadway causes drivers to slow, and the bump-out can provide a safe place for pedestrians to stand while waiting to cross, and as a landing pad when they finish crossing; the shortened distance means less time in the road.
On Hampshire Avenue, between the Monterey Recreation Centre and the Athlone Court shops, there is a bump-out that looks like it is supposed to function this way, except that it’s landscaped to prevent pedestrian use, forcing pedestrians into the street instead. Several large jagged rocks and small shrubs prevent standing there. And now a tree further fills the space. And the tree’s vertical shape may hide pedestrians waiting to cross.
This is one of the rare instances where mowed grass might be a better choice. Crossing the street there, which many people do all day long, would be safer if that bump-out were walkable. Can this be fixed?
Ann Tiplady
Oak Bay
