Thornhill senior calls crosswalk unsafe

Yorkregion.com
Sept. 30, 2015
By Simone Joseph

Marlene Dowling enjoys watching Tuesday night movies at Thornhill’s Promenade Mall.

But the 71-year-old doesn’t enjoy crossing Centre Street to get there.

She dislikes crossing from her home at the signalized intersection at Centre Street and Disera Drive.

Dowling uses a walker and often finds it difficult to cross the street in the time given. She has lymphedema, a chronic swelling in her legs.

“The traffic light gives you 10 seconds to cross. I’m taking my life in my hands crossing against a red light,” she said.

Her friend, Paul Berle, agrees that the traffic light does not give adequate time to cross the street.

“It is way too short,” Berle said. “As an able-bodied man, I get half way and it is already changing,” he said.

Centre Street is a regional road.

Dowling visited the intersection with Paul Nause, manager of traffic signal operations for the Region of York. He explained to her how the traffic light works: A person has 36 seconds in total to cross. This time is made up of seven seconds of walking, followed by 29 seconds of “pedestrian clearance,” where there is a flashing hand and pedestrian countdown times.

While Dowling had complained there is less time to cross the street after 9 p.m., according to Nause, there is no evidence of this.

“The pedestrian crossing times to cross Centre are the same after 9 p.m. as during the day, and remain the same for all times of day.

“Regional staff visited the intersection to confirm proper operation of the pedestrian signal timings. The traffic signal controller’s clock was changed to simulate the different time of day,” Nause wrote in an e-mail.

After 9 p.m., there are no issues, it is working fine, he said, adding the region has received few complaints about that location.

The timing of how long a pedestrian has to cross a road depends on the distance of the street the person is crossing, he said.

But Dowling is adamant that the intersection poses a threat and needs to be fixed.

“Something has to change. It is ridiculous and I don’t want to be hit by a car.”

If anyone has questions or concerns about pedestrian crossings, e-mail traffic@york.ca