DTES Pedestrian Safety

According to the World Health Organization a healthy population “is a key requirement for the achievement of society’s goals”.  The DTES Pedestrian Safety project aimed to provide good health and safety across all sectors of the DTES population. A partnership between the City and the non-profit, Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users (VANDU), set out common goals and integrated responses to pedestrian safety along Hastings Street.

The DTES section of Hastings Street is home to a large number of vulnerable road users including seniors, families with children, and people with disabilities, mental illness, and addictions – some of Vancouver’s most marginalized residents. To tackle this safety threat, the Great Beginnings Program team engaged with DTES residents to create awareness about pedestrian safety in the community, increase knowledge about factors contributing to DTES pedestrian injury and recommend solutions to make the DTES safer for pedestrians.

The project put in place crosswalk clearance times and installed a countdown pedestrian timer at the intersection of Hastings and Main Streets. VANDU hosts information update sessions with civic departments (Engineering and Vancouver Police Department) as well as with partner, TransLink.

VANDU and the City of Vancouver presented the Pedestrian Safety report at an international forum on Urban Health in New York City on October 25, 2010, highlighting the success of participatory research projects between government funders and citizens. Learn more

[top]