THUNDER BAY – The city’s roadways have not been safe places for foot traffic this year as the number of motor vehicle collisions involving pedestrians is on the rise.
Through the first three quarters of 2015, the Thunder Bay Police Service reported 51 collisions involving pedestrians, an increase of more than 10 per cent compared to the prior year.
Preliminary data shows an additional seven collisions in October and nine in November, bringing the unofficial 11-month total to 67.
Traffic Sgt. Glenn Porter is at a loss to explain the cause of the increase.
“Any collision that causes injury is a huge concern,” he said. “What the long-term solution is I’m not quite sure.”
There have been two fatal collisions involving pedestrians so far this year. In July, 91-year-old Jack Young died when he collided with the side of a city bus he had just exited after falling unconscious. In October, 20-year-old Stacy "JR" Kejick was killed in an early morning collision at the intersection of Court and Wilson streets.
The highest number of collisions have been occurring between 3 p.m. and 6 p.m., one of the times of day with highest traffic volume when the school and work days both end.
Nearly half of the collisions involving pedestrians reported between Jan. 1 and Sept. 30 took place during that window.
The risk increases during the final three months of the year as the days get shorter.
“We do know collisions tend to increase at this time of year because the amount of light in a day certainly drops off,” Porter said.
“It gets dark shortly after 5 p.m. so there’s probably some relationship with that but it certainly doesn’t explain the collisions happening throughout the rest of the year.”
The city’s most recent reported collision involving a pedestrian happened shortly after 5 p.m. on Wednesday when a 48-year-old woman suffered serious injuries while crossing with the right of way at the intersection of Bay and Water streets. A 90-year-old man was charged with careless driving after making a right turn on a green light into the crosswalk.
Following the right of the way was the pedestrian action in 12 reported collisions, the single-most common pedestrian action in collisions reported during the first nine months of the year. There were five cases where the pedestrian crossed without right of way and four where pedestrians crossed with no traffic control.
In those 51 collisions the pedestrian was described as being in a “normal” state in 31 cases, inattentive in 11 and had been drinking or impaired in four.
Meanwhile, the driver was deemed normal in 31 cases and inattentive in eight collisions.
“There’s responsibility on both parts. Drivers have to recognize they have an obligation to watch for pedestrians. Certainly slowing down is the first step. The next step is to not be distracted,” Porter said.
“Pedestrians have to recognize they have to be seen. We certainly encourage them to wear (bright) clothing.”
City walkability committee chair Joanna Carastathis said pedestrian safety is a major issue.
“We are definitely concerned with what’s going on and looking for ways to find solutions and make our city a more-walk friendly place,” she said.
She added a study by the Ontario Office of the Chief Coroner examining pedestrian deaths in 2010 made a number of recommendations including lowering speed limits in residential and commercial areas, lengthening crosswalk signals and implementing more audible signals for the visually-impaired.
Making the city safer goes beyond just individual pedestrians or drivers.
“The tips we give pedestrians to stay safe on the road are very much just a short-term solution. It’s not the fundamental solution,” Carastathis said.
“One of the safety tips we give pedestrians is if you’re on a street with no sidewalks, walk opposing traffic. This makes sense because you’re more visible to oncoming traffic. But the walkability committee’s questions is why are there no sidewalks on that street? Why are we putting the pedestrian in that situation in the first place?”
