Letters of Support from

Andrew Younger, MLA, Dartmouth East

Mike Savage, MP, Dartmouuth - Cole Harbour

Peter Kelly, Mayor, Halifax Regional Muncipality

Honourable Bill Estabrooks, Nova Scotia Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal (although Mr. Estabrooks' letter declined WRCF's request he did offer words of support)

Letter from Andrew Younger, MLA, Dartmouth East

A copy of Andrew Younger's letter is attached below. 

Letter from Mike Savage, MP, Dartmouth - Cole Harbour

 

August 12, 2009

 

Dear Mr. Reashor,

 

I am writing to you regarding the Waverley Road Crosswalk Flag Association with which you are familiar.

 

I write to you as an elected public official, who is disappointed that this project has been ordered to disband.  I write as well, and perhaps more importantly, as a resident of this area and a parent of children whose safety is of paramount concern to my wife and I.  I grew up on Braemar Drive and well recall the instances where my brothers and sisters or myself were almost hit by vehicles on the busy Waverley Road.  As the street has progressed over the years, the volume and speed of vehicles has only increased.

 

It is to the credit of people like Norm Collins, Gayle Collins and Brian Slaunwhite that they led the community in going beyond concern and actually taking action to provide a solution.  I remember the first time I saw a resident use one of the flags that were provided.  It served not only as a visible caution for the moment, but also as an educating service for the future.  I have spoken to residents, who have expressed their support for the program and their dismay at its termination.  I find it incredulous that one of the reasons to stop the program is that it provides a "false sense of security" to pedestrians.  On the contrary, I believe it provides a true sense of security.

 

I do not doubt your belief in the decision that has been taken.  But I add my voice as a public official, and a resident in support of the Waverley Road Crosswalk Flag Program.  I will be following up with T.A.C. (Transportation Association of Canada).

 

Best regards

  

Mike Savage

  

c.c. Mayor Peter Kelly

       Norm Collins

 

Letter from Peter Kelly, Mayor of Halifax Regional Municipality

 

August 21, 2009

 

Dear Mr. Collins and WRCF Associates:

 

Thank you for the hard work and perseverance you have shown in attempting to implement the Crosswalk flag system in the interests of public safety in your neighbourhood.

 

I want you to know that in my personal opinion, crosswalk flags make perfectly good sense and appear to me to be an economical and practical solution for signalling between a pedestrian and driver at a crossing.  I will contact the Minister of Transportation for Nova Scotia Mr. Bill Estabrooks and Mr. Michel Gravel, Executive Director of Transportation Association of Canada and urge them to initiate whatever changes are required to adopt the crosswalk flag program.

 

I encourage you to persist in your campaign to call public attention to the effectiveness of this program and to lobby for the changes required to make this possible in our community.

 

In the interim, I will also request that our own Traffic Authority, Ken Reashor, review his decision.

 

Respectfully, I remain

 

Peter Kelly

Mayor

 

cc    Hon. Bill Estabrooks, NS Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal

        Michel Gravel, Executive Director of Transportation Association of Canada

        Ken Reashor, HRM Traffic Authority

 

Email from Bill Estabrooks, Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal

Mr. Norm Collins
Chairman, Waverley Road Crosswalk Flags
326B Waverley Road
Dartmouth, NS   B2X 2E3

moosehead@accesswave.ca

Dear Mr. Collins:

As Minister responsible for the Motor Vehicle Act, I am responding to your letter of July 30, 2009 regarding crosswalk flags. This letter is also intended to be a follow up to our recent conversation concerning this matter.

I'd like to begin by saying that I have no difficulty with the notion of pedestrians using small fluorescent orange/red flags, such as the ones used Waverley Road Crosswalk Flag Program, to alert motorists to their presence at a crosswalk and to signal their desire to cross the road. While it seems intuitively obvious to me that pedestrian flags should enhance pedestrian visibility, it is clear that not everyone, including a number of transportation professionals, shares the view
that crosswalk flags are an effective or appropriate means of improving crosswalk safety.

One thing is clear, however, the Province does not have the legislative authority to require municipalities or municipal traffic authorities to permit the use of crosswalk flags at crosswalks on municipally owned roads.  Section 86 of the Motor Vehicle Act gives the Minister of Transportation certain powers with respect to Municipal Transportation Authorities, however, it does not give the Minister the authority to direct that they adopt a particular position on a specific issue.  Moreover, given the lack of definitive scientific evidence and the position articulated by Canada’s recognized centre of transportation expertise (i.e., the Transportation Association of Canada), I believe it would be inappropriate for the Province to enact legislation forcing municipalities to permit the use of crosswalk flags on municipally-owned roads and streets, at this time.

I regret that I cannot be more accommodating with respect to this issue, however, I hope the information contained in this letter is of some use.

Sincerely,

Bill Estabrooks, M.B.
Minister

cc: Honourable Ramona Jennex, Minister, Service Nova Scotia and Municipal Relations
Doug Stewart, Chief Engineer Highway Programs