There’s not enough evidence yet to warrant installing a crosswalk at Back Road and Tunner Drive.
But Courtenay staff will continue to keep an eye on the issue.
The city uses Transportation of Canada criteria to assess crosswalk requests including traffic and pedestrian volumes, road width, and the distance to the next available marked crossing.
The city’s engineering services department counted vehicle and pedestrian traffic at the location proposed for a crosswalk by a resident.
None of the counts met TAC criteria for a marked crosswalk.
Staff also added a review of incidents at Back and Tunner, going back to 2000, and found only five. None of them involved pedestrians trying to cross Back Road.
City staff plan to recount vehicles and pedestrians there this spring to reassess the resident’s request.
“It remains on our radar,” said CAO David Allen. “Based on Transportation Association of Canada criteria … there’s really not strong evidence for need of another crossing. But council always has the option of increasing level of service. Staff are just saying the evidence isn’t strong.”
Counc. Bob Wells said “it’s hard not to feel that it’s an accident waiting to happen” at the intersection.
And Counc. David Frisch wondered if the city was “discouraging walking.” He hopes city staff will look at encouraging more pedestrians in the upcoming traffic plan.