The City of Vancouver is doubling down on this pedestrian safety measure

The City of Vancouver is working to double the number of leading pedestrian interval (LPI) intersections it installs per year, with studies showing the design has the potential to reduce collisions.

An LPI intersection gives pedestrians a head start by switching the walk signal on a few seconds before the light goes green for drivers. This enables pedestrians to establish their right of way and be more visible to drivers who are turning, the city says.

Vancouver had 57 LPI intersections as of May and had committed to creating 15 more every year, at $2,000 per installation, according to a city councillor's motion from earlier this year, which called for a further expansion of the roadway feature.

That motion passed and the city is now working to double the annual number of LPI intersections it installs.

"We see through our work with ICBC, and looking at collision reports and investigations, that turning movements create some of the most conflicts for pedestrians, where vehicles are trying to make a turn at the intersection and there's a pedestrian in the crosswalk," said Winston Chou, the associate director of the City of Vancouver's traffic and data management branch.

Chou said the city has seen fewer pedestrian collisions since installing LPI intersections on a widespread scale starting in 2018, and that pedestrians have also responded positively to the technology.

A paper co-authored by UBC researchers in 2022 reviewed a series of studies and found that the technology could reduce collisions by as much as 60 per cent.

Chou noted the intersections are present in other cities in Metro Vancouver as well. The City of Surrey says on its website that it leads the province with over 70 LPI intersections in place there.

"It takes a little bit of time to get through it and get through the city to implement all of these, but it's a relatively low cost installation and we're seeing some really positive benefits from it," Chou said.

He added that the City of Vancouver will install the technology at intersections where ICBC has reported a higher volume of pedestrian collisions, with the provincial insurer reporting around 500 crashes involving pedestrians in the city last year.

The official also asked pedestrians and drivers to be careful as the clocks roll back an hour and the province reverts to standard time next weekend.

"That means there's going to be less daylight, especially during the afternoon when people are going home," Chou said. "And so we really want to remind people to be safe, to take more time when they're commuting home."