The Centretown Citizens Community Association is encouraging drivers to be more aware after a recent report found seniors in urban areas are at high risk of being struck by cars.
Ninety-five people died as a result of pedestrian collisions, according to the Ontario Pedestrian Death Review.
The review found that 63 per cent of pedestrians killed at intersections were 65 or older and that speed was the number one factor.
Two-thirds of the deaths occurred when the vehicle was travelling on roads with a speed limit above 50 km/h.
Ottawa Police say there were seven reported collisions involving pedestrians on Bank, Elgin and Kent streets between Catherine and Wellington streets in both 2010 and 2011. The numbers for 2012 have not yet been released.
Stephen Thirlwall, a member of the CCCA seniors committee, says awareness needs to take place – for both drivers and pedestrians. He adds the education will be a gradual process.
“It’s hard to change the habits of people. If they’re going to jaywalk, they’re going to jaywalk unless they get a really hard scare themselves,” he says.
Thirlwall says clearer signaling at intersections is one way to make roads safer “so people aren’t confused as they’re coming down the street.”
Janice Bridgewater, director of community programming at Abbotsford Senior Centre on Bank Street in the Glebe, says she has not personally heard of any senior pedestrians being struck by cars.
She says the Abbotsford centre has frail as well as “active and lively” seniors. However, she says those who are frail typically are driven to the centre instead of walking to it.
Bridgewater says the slower speeds on Bank Street also help keep seniors safe.
The Pedestrian Death Review also found that pedestrian distraction was the second highest contributor to pedestrian deaths. Thirlwall says he has noticed pedestrians “jumping out” on the street without looking a number of times on Bank Street.
The report found using a cell phone, walking a dog or riding a skateboard, for example, distracted pedestrians.