46 replies to this topic

[G-Man]

Bah... Saanich probably has more miles of sidewalk than Victoria.

I actually doubt this. Victoria is for the most part on a tight grid system so more of the city has road on it and thus more sidewalks over all.

[Mike K.]

This is what the majority of Saanich neighbourhoods look like.

At best subdivisions have a sidewalk on one side of the road, otherwise you're trudging across front lawns and foot paths. Sidewalks on both sides of the street are only common along major arterials and even then long swaths of fairly busy roads (like Cordova and Blenkinsop) have nothing in the way of pedestrian infrastructure.

[Ms. B. Havin]

1965.....if there was no marked crosswalk....the pedestrians were fair game....75 points if I remember correctly.....85 if you could leave their walker standing.

Dude... I got my driver's license IN Victoria in the early 70s, and it was clear as glass then, and I doubt it was different 10-15 years earlier. :-)

wrt the comment earlier that you get sh*t on if you argue with drivers about this: Yes, this has happened to me, several times. There's a great example at the downtown Y, where a T-intersection crosses Quadra (from Broughton, which ends at Quadra). Because there's a light at Quadra and Fort and a "marked" crosswalk at Quadra and Rockland, drivers assume that the T-intersections at Broughton (and Meares!) don't count. THEY DO.

It would be great if Vic PD officers were actually *educated* enough to know about the law, and if they enforced it. Drivers seem to think that l'il ole Victoria is so "mega" that pedestrians only have rights in zebra-striped crosswalks. This is the epitome of small-town thinking. Real cities *know* that multi-modal transportation rules (especially in the economically sensitive core, which depends on foot-traffic as well as all other non-automobile traffic), and that it's *not* all about cars if you want an economically strong downtown. Sure, if you think it's all about cars, then fine: go ahead and kill the pedestrian, build up the ex-urb mall instead, and prepare to see your downtown die.

[Sparky]

^ That was my attempt at humour. Obviously I shouldn't quit my day job.

[Sparky]

Most drivers don't know this but every intersection in BC is a legal crosswalk. Drivers have to yield to someone crossing at a crosswalk.

OK, the gloves are off now. Let's clarify the definition of a crosswalk. A crosswalk is defined in the BC Motor Vehicle Act and the definition relies on the existence of a sidewalk if there is no marked crosswalk.

"crosswalk" means
(a) a portion of the roadway at an intersection or elsewhere distinctly indicated for pedestrian crossing by signs or by lines or other markings on the surface, or
(b) the portion of a highway at an intersection that is included within the connection of the lateral lines of the sidewalks on the opposite sides of the highway, or within the extension of the lateral lines of the sidewalk on one side of the highway, measured from the curbs, or in the absence of curbs, from the edges of the roadway;

Here is the important part........what if there is no sidewalk?

You will see by reading this article quoted from drive smart BC that if there is no sidewalk.....there is no unmarked crosswalk...........driving in Saanich 45 years ago.....there were not a lot of sidewalks.

http://www.drivesmar...rked-crosswalks

[phx]

This is what the majority of Saanich neighbourhoods look like.

At best subdivisions have a sidewalk on one side of the road, otherwise you're trudging across front lawns and foot paths.

Don't be silly. Walking on the road in a residential neighbourhood is not a problem. Example

Sidewalks are nice, but expensive. They cost about as much as the road itself.

[sebberry]

Don't be silly. Walking on the road in a residential neighbourhood is not a problem. Example

Spin the camera around 180 degrees and you'll see that these ladies are getting construction debris in their flip-flops.

[Jill]

Don't be silly. Walking on the road in a residential neighbourhood is not a problem. Example

Sidewalks are nice, but expensive. They cost about as much as the road itself.

Maybe if you're an able-bodied adult walking on the road is not a problem, but if you are pushing a stroller or walking with young children, the lack of sidewalks is a pain, especially given the way many drivers roar down residential streets.

Of course, too many sidewalks or portions thereof are rendered pretty much useless by poorly placed sign poles, bus shelters, mail boxes, overgrown hedges, etc., requiring anyone who can't just turn themselves sideways to get by to get off the sidewalk and onto the street.

[Baro]

Is there a number or call or email about people's hedges growing way into the sidewalk? There's a few in my travels that are so ridiculous one has to nearly go on the road to walk past them.

[Linear Thinker]

Is there a number or call or email about people's hedges growing way into the sidewalk? There's a few in my travels that are so ridiculous one has to nearly go on the road to walk past them.

Contact the appropriate municipality and ask for bylaw enforcement.

[maniac78]

There are times when I would just loooooooooooooooove to be able to do this to someone.

A friend of mine from highschool is a police officer and says it's the best part of his job. That and the "courtesy" you get when you pull out your badge when stopped by another officer anywhere in Canada if you get what I'm saying.

[Sparky]

OK, the gloves are off now. Let's clarify the definition of a crosswalk. A crosswalk is defined in the BC Motor Vehicle Act and the definition relies on the existence of a sidewalk if there is no marked crosswalk.

"crosswalk" means
(a) a portion of the roadway at an intersection or elsewhere distinctly indicated for pedestrian crossing by signs or by lines or other markings on the surface, or
(b) the portion of a highway at an intersection that is included within the connection of the lateral lines of the sidewalks on the opposite sides of the highway, or within the extension of the lateral lines of the sidewalk on one side of the highway, measured from the curbs, or in the absence of curbs, from the edges of the roadway;

Here is the important part........what if there is no sidewalk?

You will see by reading this article quoted from drive smart BC that if there is no sidewalk.....there is no unmarked crosswalk...........driving in Saanich 45 years ago.....there were not a lot of sidewalks.

http://www.drivesmar...rked-crosswalks

So I swung by the library today and looked up the definition of crosswalk in the 1960 Motor Vehicle act.




So Ms B Havin, you are correct the rules have been the same for over 50 years.

[mc9]

Don't be silly. Walking on the road in a residential neighbourhood is not a problem.

Yes, I love walking on soggy/ muddy grass down the narrow roads when cars are coming, and/or to avoid the senior drivers who can barely see me. I also love having to avoid pedestrians walking on the road when I am driving- I know that both of us feel totally comfortable with me having to pass them so close, flinging rocks up at their face.

I would feel much better having sidewalks for kids to walk on/play on then on the road!

[phx]

Ahh, well, you can't please everyone. Some think residential streets are needlessly wide, others think they are impossibly narrow.

[Bingo]

It is amazing to see people walking on the side of the roads without sidewalks, with their back to the traffic, instead of the opposite side facing traffic. This was a basic rule we we taught as kids, and on some narrow sidewalks I use this method as well.

[Langford Rat]

True that, Bingo. It's more than a basic rule...its a reg in the Motor Vehicle Act:

182. (2) If there is no sidewalk, a pedestrian walking along or on a highway must walk only on the extreme left side of the roadway or the shoulder of the highway, facing traffic approaching from the opposite direction.

...that's why I always taught my dogs to heel to my left side (keeping myself between them and the traffic)

[G-Man]

^ And so people can be ticketed?

[LJ]

It is amazing to see people walking on the side of the roads without sidewalks, with their back to the traffic, instead of the opposite side facing traffic. This was a basic rule we we taught as kids, and on some narrow sidewalks I use this method as well.

How about the people that walk/run on the side of the road when there are sidewalks? I don't give them a lot of clearance when I go by.

[Langford Rat]

Failure to use a sidewalk (when there is one) and failure to walk on left side of road (when there isn't a sidewalk) are both ticketable offences and the fine is 109 bucks. Let's just hope the cops excersize a little more discretion than these Texas cowboys http://galvestondail...m/story/263034/

[mc9]

Perhaps we need a traffic rules thread, or if we have one I need to be pointed to it.

When a pedestrian is crossing the street, either at a crosswalk or from a corner, at what moment can a motor vehicle that had stopped for the pedestrian start to move through the intersection again?

I had a former cop tell me, in the former city I lived it, that it was legal for you to start moving back through the intersection if the pedestrian was halfway across.

I see most people here generally will start moving again after the pedestrians are halfway through the crosswalk. Should each side legally wait till the pedestrian is FULLY across?

Does any of that make sense. I am finding it hard to explain