How we are improving transportation safety

Fatality rates in Vancouver are low compared to other peer cities, but there is still room for improvement.

To reach zero traffic related fatalities and injuries, we are:

Evaluating hospital and ambulance injury data to understand traffic related serious injuries and make decisions based on that data
Identifying priority intersections and corridors
Piloting new safety strategies and devices
Engaging with the public to travel safely
Continuing to work with our safety partners, such as the Vancouver Police Department (VPD) and the ICBC (Insurance Corporation of BC) to:
- Develop targeted enforcement programs to tackle dangerous behaviours at priority locations
- Inspect commercial vehicles with other municipalities, as well as provincial commercial safety and enforcement agencies
- Cost share infrastructure upgrades that improve safety through ICBC’s Road Improvement Program

What's new

Minor amendments to the Street and Traffic Bylaw 2849 and Skateboards in Protected Bike Lanes presented to council in November 2017. View the brief summary (2.60 MB)
Pedestrian signal at Granville and Balfour, installed October 2017
Accessible pedestrian signal to assist blind or low vision users crossing at Matheson and SE Marine, installed October 2017

Quick start action plan

Check out new safety upgrades coming soon. Hover on the map icons for more information.

View a larger map

New items we are piloting

Currently we are testing 4 new items, which have shown successful results in other cities.

Pedestrian scramble

A pedestrian scramble is a signalized intersection that has an exclusive pedestrian-only phase. The crossing allows pedestrians to cross simultaneously in all directions, including diagonally, while vehicles in all directions are stopped.
Scrambles help pedestrians by:
- Increasing their opportunities to cross
- Allowing them to cross an intersection without any conflicting vehicle movements
- Shortening their crossing distances
- Increasing area placemaking
There is one pilot location at Granville Street and Robson Street, which permits pedestrian to cross during the pedestrian scramble phase and concurrently with vehicle movements during other phases.

Further actions

We will monitor and evaluate the pilot to guide us on any modifications that it might need and following evaluation, we may recommend scrambles at other locations.
Flashing beacons

Flashing beacons are pedestrian-activated, high-intensity amber beacons used to alert drivers to yield to pedestrians at marked crosswalks. There are three locations currently in the pilot.
Results
- Drivers yielding to pedestrians increased from 50% to 98%
- Evaluating reliability of solar power, technical issues at one location (West Blvd & 42nd Ave)
- Concerns from Disabilities Advisory Committee:
  - Need audible queues that are different from a signal and assist blind users crossing
Further actions
- Continue to improve the reliability of solar power at West Blvd and 42nd Ave.
- Add audible tones with a verbal message to distinguish from a signal (We are currently testing this at West Blvd and 42nd Ave.).
- Install flashing beacons at 10 new locations in the next two years.
Accessible pedestrian signals

Accessible pedestrian signals are devices that use audible tones and vibrotactile feedback to guide people who are blind or have low vision as to when they can cross at a signalized intersection. There are four pilot locations, with a new trial location at Hornby/ Helmcken.
We developed the requirements for accessible pedestrian signals in consultation with the Canadian National Institute for the Blind (CNIB ) and Access for Sight-Impaired Consumers (ASIC )

Results

Some trial locations have had technical/operational challenges, and we are working with our suppliers to address the issues. We received updated products and went through extensive technical testing.

Further actions
- Install new accessible pedestrian signals at new signal locations.
- Upgrade existing signals going into rehabilitation.
- Develop a prioritized list of locations.
Leading pedestrian intervals

Leading pedestrian intervals provide pedestrians a three to seven second head start when entering an intersection with a green signal in the same direction of travel. There is one pilot location at Davie and Burrard.

Leading pedestrian intervals improve the visibility of pedestrians and reinforce their right-of-way over turning vehicles, especially in locations with a history of conflict.

Results

The trial location has reduced the severity of conflicts, but have increased the number of conflicts. However, successful results have been observed in other cities (i.e. Surrey and New York).

Further action

Develop a list of recommended locations.

Effectiveness of safety upgrades

To help us identify the most successful solutions in reducing traffic related fatalities and injury collisions at priority locations, we assess the effectiveness of safety upgrades that have been implemented in recent years, including actions recommended through the Pedestrian Safety Study and Action Plan (8 MB) and Cycling Safety Study (10 MB).

Pedestrian safety improvements

Upgrades	Locations implemented in last 5 years	Reduction of incidents involving pedestrians in a collision	Reduction of incidents involving pedestrians with a fatality or injury in a collision
New pedestrian signals	2	-96%	-20%
Left turn vehicle arrow	5	-38%	-26%
LED lighting	18	-27%	-46% (after dark collisions)
Countdown timers	33	-28%	-10%
Slower walking speeds	4	-12%

Cycling safety improvements

Upgrades	Locations implemented in last five years	Reduction of incidents involving a cyclist in a collision	Reduction of incidents involving a cyclist with a fatality or injury in a collision
Removal of traffic circles	2	-100%	-60%
Median extension (right turn more difficult for vehicles)	1	-42% (right turn collisions)	-33% (right turn collisions)
Added lighting	1	-25% (after dark collisions)	-0%
Green paint at conflict areas	6	Data not sufficient to assess	Data not sufficient to assess

How we are improving transportation safety

What's new

Quick start action plan

New items we are piloting

Pedestrian scramble

Flashing beacons

Accessible pedestrian signals

Leading pedestrian intervals

Effectiveness of safety upgrades

Pedestrian safety improvements

Cycling safety improvements

Contact information, partner agencies, and website policies