Pedestrians rally for safer crosswalks, days after toddler hit by car

A group of citizens got together on Sunday to ask the provincial government to crack down on drivers who ignore pedestrian crossings.

This comes nine days after a three year-old boy was hit while crossing the street at the intersection of St-Joseph and Hutchison streets.

The group says it's time for stricter enforcement and heftier fines for drivers who blow through stop signs and crosswalks.

The protest was spearheaded by Dr. Alain Vadeboncoeur, who's collected some 10,000 signatures on a petition to make the province's streets safer for pedestrians.

"I really think we have a specific problem in Quebec," he said. "Even in the U.S., or you go to Europe, or in Ontario, when a pedestrian crosses a street people stop, and here we seem not to be able to do that."

He suggested the province should tackle the issue by raising fines from $100 to $300.

Alex Norris, head of the city's public security commission, which oversees the police, was also present at the rally.

Norris said he's for stiffer fines, but wouldn't go so far as to issue a directive to police to step up enforcement.

"A hundred [dollars] for not respecting a crosswalk, I think that's just too low. It doesn't send a serious enough message to motorists that human life is at stake here," said Norris.