Heads Up Halifax highlights vehicle-pedestrian safety

The switch from Daylight Savings Time makes crossing Halifax streets even more dangerous, and that’s prompting the city to highlight crosswalk safety awareness.  

There have been three vehicle-pedestrian accidents in the last few days, including one, Monday morning on Herring Cove Road.

Collisions involving pedestrians in crosswalks peak at this time of year when it gets dark earlier.  

Pedestrian collisions tend to happen between 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. during the week, when most people are rushing home from work.

The numbers climb in the fall and really jump after the clocks are set back an hour, ensuring the evening commute happens mainly in the dark.  

Norm Collins is a crosswalk safety advocate. It's taken five years, but he finally has city-sanctioned crosswalk flags along the Waverley Road.   

Great for the day, and for the night, the flags have reflective tape.  

"We did that obviously to try to  make them more visible. We're thinking  of putting the reflective tape on the buckets themselves," he said.

On Wednesday, Halifax will hold a crosswalk safety awareness day and launch its new advertising campaign entitled Heads Up Halifax.

Collins was part of a sub-committee that recommended the awareness day. He approves of the new campaign.

"I think the message is a very appropriate and positive message that does call people to action. Be attentive and don't be distracted," he said.

But Collins adds, follow up on a lot more recommendations needs to happen in order to reduce the number of pedestrian collisions.