Injured on the job, this Halifax crossing guard knows the dangers faced by pedestrians

Cherie McGann became a crossing guard in Halifax four years ago to give back to her community and help kids get to school safely.

She didn't expect to be hit by a car on the job and have to live with lasting effects. 

There have been three fatal pedestrian collisions in the city this year, two within one week in November. McGann says this is no surprise, as she witnesses distracted and dangerous driving every day. 

"Slow down and put your phone away, you don't need to be on it when you're driving," she said. "I see far too much of that … several times a day every day."

In January 2018, McGann was working at a crosswalk at the intersection of Willett and Dunbrack streets in Clayton Park. She was guiding a mother and her three kids across the street. 

"[The driver] was going too fast for road conditions and couldn't stop in time," she said. "Thankfully, he just hit me. But I wish he hadn't. I'm still dealing with it."

'The driver has to remember'

The driver stayed at the scene and police were called, but McGann was in shock at the time and declined to go to the hospital. She later found out she had a concussion. 

Since then, she has had short-term memory issues. Pain in her ankle makes it hard for her to stay on her feet for long periods. 

"I had a lot of anger and resentment towards the driver that hit me," McGann said. "But the thing is, afterwards, I had no memory of that certain period of time from standing there and seeing the car coming at me and then getting up off the ground.

"But the driver has to remember … that's something that's going to be with him forever."

There were 95 collisions that injured a pedestrian in the Halifax area from January to November. Halifax Regional Police have issued 421 tickets for "driving while operating a cellphone" so far this year.

HRM council and staff have been working on pedestrian safety. The Strategic Road Safety Framework was put in place in 2018 and aims to "reduce fatal and injury collisions on roadways" in the city.

"There's a number of different safety measures that continue to be implemented to help improve pedestrian safety," said Brynn Budden, a municipal spokesperson. 

Budden pointed to the installation of leading pedestrian intervals, speed limit reduction in residential neighbourhoods, speed humps, flashing beacons at crosswalks, speed display signs, and curb extensions.

HRM not meeting targets

According to Halifax's road safety dashboard, the city has not met its 2021 installation targets for five of the six road safety measure categories. 

One category, speed display signs, has a listed goal of 19 installations, but the dashboard shows there have been none. Another category, leading pedestrian intervals, has a goal of 20, with 15 completed. 

"One of the main things that staff do when implementing this strategy is review higher collision locations to determine if there's any measures that can be undertaken to reduce incidents in those specific areas," Budden said. 

Though HRM has been introducing some new safety measures, McGann said the largest responsibility remains with drivers.

"You're in a vehicle. We're standing there," McGann said. "You're surrounded in metal. Our skin isn't going to protect us from that vehicle."