COLWOOD - No Thought for Pedestrians

I found an interesting post on Twitter this morning by @renomate talking about the intersection of Ocean Boulevard and the Island Highway in Colwood. He said "Standing at the intersection, waiting for the little "walk" symbol to appear so we can cross... my (8 year old) daughter says to me, "Dad, what do you do if you want to cross there"? (pointing perpendicular to where we are crossing) "you have to cross 3 times, and there's not even a scramble"

@renomate also included an image of this sign, although I cannot find it in Google Street View at the intersection:

The inference that I take is that the side of the intersection without the marked crosswalk is not available for pedestrian use, even though this intersection is next to a main transit stop and shopping.

On page 322 of B.C.'s Active Transportation Design Guide we find the following:

According to the B.C. MVA, at the intersection of any two roads with pedestrian facilities, all legs of the intersection are legally considered to contain crosswalks, regardless of whether or not they are marked with signage or pavement markings. Unmarked crosswalks are typically defined by connecting the Pedestrian Through Zones on either side of the road. Where there is no sidewalk, the unmarked crosswalk is measured from the edge of the road.

The Guide goes on to explain treatments that would make this intersection friendlier and safer for pedestrians such as refuge islands, raised crosswalks and changes of curve radius.

While this intersection is clearly designed with moving motor vehicles in mind some changes can be made for relatively low cost, such as the refuge island, marking a crosswalk on all sides of the intersection and adjusting the traffic lights for leading pedestrian intervals.

A pedestrian scramble is not out of the question either.

Explore the Intersection: