Why did the city stick these crosswalk poles right in the way of pedestrians? The reason isn’t easy to see

Thestar.com
March 12, 2021

When poles for pedestrian crossing signal buttons are put right in the path of pedestrians, it is hard not to think that it’s a mistake.

But the poles on the south side of College Street, at Huron Street, were put there on purpose --with the city aware that they’d be better in a less obtrusive location --for reasons that would never meet the eye.

Not much is left to discretion in the placement of traffic infrastructure. The city and province have prescribed standards for just about everything in the road allowance, from signs and signals to crosswalk markings.

So when something appears to be in the wrong place, like poles on which buttons are located to activate pedestrian crossing signals, you have to wonder how it squares with standards that are usually a guiding light.

I got an email from Robin Bennett that included photos of the poles, pointing out that they’re in a questionable location, relative to pedestrian traffic.

“As you can see from the pictures, they have been placed in the middle of the sidewalk, not at the edge of the curb,” said Bennett. “They are a hazard for anyone who is visually impaired.”

I went there and found two relatively new poles on the southeast and southwest corners of College and Huron, both with buttons on them to activate crossing signals.

On both sides, one pole was at the edge of the curb, near the crosswalk. The second pole on the east side was squarely in the middle of the sidewalk, while the other on the west side looked to be in a more appropriate spot.

To be fair, I didn’t see anyone inconvenienced by them while I was there, and even at night they’d be hard to miss. Two have audible signals on them that make chirping sounds to help people with poor vision.

Their positioning, particularly on the southeast corner, seemed so at odds with pedestrian policy, which calls for as few sidewalk obstacles as possible, that I had to ask the city for the back story.

But I knew before I sent the email that there’d likely be a good explanation and that they wouldn’t be moved.

STATUS: I got a note from Justin Fiorini, a senior engineer with traffic systems construction and maintenance, that laid out the reasons: “The accessible pedestrian signals buttons at College and Huron are within the city standard practice of three metres maximum from the curb-face and provide suitable clearway and access for pedestrians, including those with disabilities and visual impairments.

“While the location is acceptable, the reason the poles are not located closer to the curb is due to the presence of underground utilities, which prevented installation there. It’s also worth noting that the poles were installed prior to the completion of the adjacent condo building.”

As more and more wires and pipes are buried to serve a growing city, it’s apparently easier and less costly to relocate surface infrastructure --even to places where it sticks out like a sore thumb --than underground utility lines.