A national study of school crossings found an average of four-and-a-half near misses between pedestrians and vehicles occur each day. The study from the Canadian Automobile Association and the Alberta Motor Association (AMA) monitored 30 crosswalks in 11 cities over a five-school-day period. It used video cameras and artificial intelligence to examine traffic and pedestrian movements, recording 660 conflicts over the study period. One in 84 pedestrians experienced near-misses. Twelve of the crosswalks monitored in the study were in Alberta, six each in Edmonton and Calgary. There, researchers recorded 72 such conflicts, with 79 per cent of them involving vehicles driving straight through intersections and 21 per cent vehicles turning. “Now we have data to show how and why things are happening, and we’re able to help look at communities and figure out what they specifically need in order to have safer crossings around their school zones,” Hannah Hamilton, the program manager of safe communities for AMA, told CTV News Edmonton. While crossings with flashing lights or other traffic controls had a near-miss rate 20 times lower than those without, the study found even some painted lines in a so-called zebra pattern can make a meaningful difference. It’s informative data for city councillor Keren Tang as she and her colleagues prepare to put together Edmonton’s four-year budget later this month. She says she hears concerns about traffic safety, especially in school zones, more than almost any other topic. “The study today just goes to show and provide the research and the evidence that these preventative measures, these built environment interventions do make a difference and that we need to continue on this path,” Tang said.
