Crosswalk safety recommendations pushed forward

Eye-level amber lights could soongo up at five intersections in the Halifax region as the province begins to implement recommendations from a task force on crosswalk safety.

The provincial governmentannounced Thursday it would spend $300,000 over three years forvarious crosswalk projects.

The upgrades at five intersections in the Halifax Regional Municipality will mean larger, brighter lights, which was one of the key recommendations of the joint provincial-municipal task force.

"I see this as the one that will give us the most immediate response from the public," said Murray Scott,Nova Scotia's minister of transportation. "I do believe it will make our roads safer."

The new amber lights are to be installedat:

• Nantucket Avenue at the former Green Road.
• Bedford Highway at Mount Saint Vincent University.
• Herring Cove Road at Drysdale Road.
• Dunbrack Street at Clayton Park Drive.
• Pleasant Street at Dartmouth General Hospital.

Scott said other municipalities will be able to approach the province for help in paying for similar upgradesfor their crosswalks.

The task force wasformedin spring 2007 after several fatal accidents.

In March 2006, Mary Beth Chaulk, 16, was struck and killed by a car at a crosswalk on Portland Street, a busy four-lane road in Dartmouth.

A year later, Kaitlyn Murray-Selinger, 14, was hit by a pickup truck at the corner of Pleasant and Arthur streets in Dartmouth. She died later in hospital.

For years, students at Mount Saint Vincent University have been calling for a better crosswalk outside their school, where therehave been a number ofaccidents.

Besides new amber lights, the task force recommended anumber of measures, including apublic-awareness campaign about crosswalk safety and a requirement forvehiclesto have front licence plates.

The province says it has already addressed the issue of speeding by doubling the fine forexceeding the speed limitin school and road-work zones.