Have flag, will travel ... safely

ANova Scotiaman believes a little flag-waving might save a life.

Norm Collins has put bright orange flags at 13 crosswalks along Waverley Road in Dartmouth for pedestrians to carry as they cross the busy street.

He saidthe flagswill make pedestrians stand out to passing motorists.

Collins said he grew tired of hearing about traffic accidents involving pedestrians.

"Over the last year, year and a half, we didn't see anything changing," he told CBC News onMonday. "This was an opportunity for a group of citizens to attempt to actually do something."

The flags are about the size of a sheet of paper. There are several at each of the 13 crosswalks, some of which have flashing lights. The flags sit in cylinders that Collins attached to the crosswalk posts.

Collins said various businesses are helping to cover the costs by "adopting" a crosswalk.

"[Municipal officials] weren't prepared to fund or endorse the program," he said. "They did say in the absence of any legitimate safety complaints that they will not take our buckets down and wouldn't take our flags away."

Collinssaid thieves have made off with about 30 flags since the projectwas launchedon Sunday.

Even so,he remains optimistic andhopes thecrosswalk flagideacatches on in other neighbourhoods around the Halifax Regional Municipality.

Several U.S. cities have similar programs.