Saskatoon resident paints crosswalk, takes pedestrian safety into own hands

Derek Cameron got tired of unsafe pedestrian crosswalks in Saskatoon, with cars parking right up to the crosswalk line on Main Street and Lake Crescent, so he decided to do something about it.

“One, that’s against the city’s by-law about not stopping within 15 meters of a crosswalk, but more importantly, there’s a reason that by-laws exist, and it’s to protect sight lines. So, if there’s car right up to the crosswalk, it’s harder for you as a pedestrian to see a vehicle coming towards you. It’s also harder for that vehicle to see you entering that crosswalk,” said Cameron.

He took his display to social media where he says he received strong reaction from cyclists and walkers in the area.

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He has since taken the post down, but thinks people benefitted from the painted lines.

“When I painted it, for one thing, the amount of people that would use that space to park dropped to zero…  And then on the other end of that, since you’re able to more confidently walk out into the street, vehicles did absolutely notice and slow down faster than in other situations I’ve experienced as well.”

The crosswalk safety painting was done in May and removed a couple weeks ago. He says he can’t blame the city for clearing his work, “Although I will say, from my experience, it seemed to function well.”

In a statement, the city says painting or placing markings on public property is not permitted and while they appreciate residents’ desire to improve safety, any road markings must be approved by the city.

Cameron is still looking to introduce more pedestrian safety in Saskatoon.

“The city has, in some places, you know, put more permanent concrete infrastructure, say, out front of Brunskill School… I would say the pace of that is fairly slow, concrete is expensive, so I think it would be worth it for the city to find ways to allow lower cost and community driven solutions to be formalized.”

The city says staff spoke directly with those responsible, and they will be invoiced for the full cost to remove the paint.

Watch the video above to see more of Derek Cameron’s crosswalk and how the city is responding.