Town of Milton to Install New Pedestrian Crossing

Tuesday, August 2, 2016

In this article written for TAC News, Heide Schlegl, Coordinator, Traffic and Parking, Engineering Services Department, Town of Milton, writes about the installation of a new pedestrian crossing to provide pedestrians with the right-of-way and ensure their safety. Prepared on behalf of TAC’s Small Municipalities Task Force, this article is part of a series of feature articles on the issues and challenges affecting smaller communities.

The Town of Milton will install a new pedestrian crossing in their downtown core in early fall 2016.

With the introduction of the Ministry of Transportation of Ontario (MTO)’s Bill 31, the Transportation Statute Law Amendment Act (an amendment to the recently updated Ontario Highway Traffic Act), the Province has introduced three new variations of the pedestrian crossing. These new treatments will allow pedestrians to have the right-of-way under a greater number of conditions and will provide municipalities with a more cost effective solution to ensure pedestrian safety.

The Town of Milton, located west of Toronto, is a fast-growing municipality with a population close to 110,000 residents. The downtown business area is located on Main Street East, an arterial road running east/west, consisting of several restaurants and small businesses. Between mid-May and mid-October, the street is closed on Saturday mornings for the Farmer’s Market.

Three dedicated pedestrian crossings are currently located on Main Street East but do not provide pedestrians with the right-of-way, creating a lot of confusion for both pedestrians and motorists.

Milton’s Traffic Engineering staff will be installing a Level II - Type B crossing on Main Street East. The crossing will consist of regulatory signage; crosswalk lines; overhead signage; a rapid rectangular flashing beacon, and shark teeth (stop bar pavement marking). The new crossing will be located in the middle of Main Street East and the other two will be blocked off with bollards; information signs will be installed advising pedestrians to use the protected crossing.

The Town of Milton is currently working on a communications plan to better educate pedestrians and motorists regarding the use of the new pedestrian crossing. A report will be presented to Milton Town Council on August 22 regarding the new crossing and three other crossings (Level II – Type D) that will also be installed in fall 2016.  

 


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