City may redesign intersection upgrade over pedestrian safety

A busy intersection next to the campus of Western University may get extra attention from city engineers after safety concerns were raised about the mix of pedestrians and vehicles that criss-cross it each day.

The city’s $27.1 million plan to rebuild the intersection of Western Road and Sarnia Road hit a speed bump at the Civic Works Committee (CWC) when Councillor Sam Trosow pushed for changes aimed at better protecting pedestrians.

“Consider, at least as a pilot project, a pedestrian scramble,” Trosow proposed to colleagues and city engineers.

A so-called ‘pedestrian scramble’ is a traffic signalization strategy that temporarily stops vehicular traffic in both directions so pedestrians can cross an intersection diagonally.

“We do not have one in London,” added Trosow. “There are several in Toronto, and in other cities.”

Deputy Mayor Shawn Lewis backed the proposal to look at pedestrian-oriented traffic signal strategies, “I’ve used scramble intersections in Quebec City and I found from a pedestrian perspective they were fantastic.”

In 2022, a count identified 11,810 total pedestrians crossing at the intersection and 203 cyclists.

The proposed design for rebuilding the intersection of Western Road and Sarnia Road. (Source: City of London)

Nishant Sharma told CTV News he regularly walks across the intersection to get to class, “It’s kind of unsafe because you are crossing and simultaneously the cars can also cross.”

Director of Transportation and Mobility Doug MacRae explained that an analysis of the intersection concluded that a pedestrian scramble would significantly back up traffic.

“The modelling indicates that the delays to vehicular traffic would approximately double,” he told the committee.

London Transit ridership is three times greater around the university than elsewhere in the city, so staff were also concerned that traffic delays could impact adherence to bus schedules.

The committee recommended referring the environmental assessment (EA) document back to city staff to examine pedestrian oriented signalization including a possible scramble.

Trosow said it was important to consider all options before the EA documents were sent to the province.

“I think it’s the obligation of the city to design our infrastructure to make it as easy as possible for people to have a safe trip across that very perilous intersection,” said Trosow.

Council will consider the referral at its meeting on April 25.