Saskatoon resident paints crosswalk, takes pedestrian safety into own hands

Tired of cars parking too close to crosswalks on Main Street and Lake Crescent, Saskatoon resident Derek Cameron decided to take direct action. He painted the crosswalk himself, a move he says significantly improved pedestrian visibility and safety.

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One, that’s against the city’s by-law about not stopping within 15 meters of a crosswalk, but more importantly, there’s a reason that by-laws exist, and it’s to protect sight lines. So, if there’s car right up to the crosswalk, it’s harder for you as a pedestrian to see a vehicle coming towards you. It’s also harder for that vehicle to see you entering that crosswalk.

Cameron explained that illegal parking within 15 meters of a crosswalk obstructs sightlines for both pedestrians and drivers. His painted crosswalk, applied in May, immediately stopped cars from parking in the restricted zone. He observed that vehicles noticed pedestrians more readily and slowed down faster.

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When I painted it, for one thing, the amount of people that would use that space to park dropped to zero… And then on the other end of that, since you’re able to more confidently walk out into the street, vehicles did absolutely notice and slow down faster than in other situations I’ve experienced as well.

Although the city removed the paint a couple of weeks ago, citing bylaws against unauthorized markings on public property, Cameron found the solution effective. He believes the city should explore lower-cost, community-driven methods for enhancing pedestrian safety, similar to permanent concrete infrastructure used elsewhere, but at a faster pace.

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Although I will say, from my experience, it seemed to function well.

The city confirmed that staff spoke with Cameron and that he will be invoiced for the removal costs. While appreciating the desire to improve safety, the city emphasized that all road markings require official approval.

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The city has, in some places, you know, put more permanent concrete infrastructure, say, out front of Brunskill School… I would say the pace of that is fairly slow, concrete is expensive, so I think it would be worth it for the city to find ways to allow lower cost and community driven solutions to be formalized.