Pedestrian Recall Expanded

Two people wearing black are walking towards a grey building and a sidewalk. A pedestrian signal showing the 'walk' symbol with the number 24 is above the street crossing.

Today, City Council voted to change several intersections from push button pedestrian crossing (pedestrian actuation mode) to automated pedestrian crossing (pedestrian recall). Some of these changes will be permanent, while others will only be changed during the winter months.

Pedestrian Core Expanded Year Round

The pedestrian core was implemented in 2021, and updated in August 2022 (see item 15.2 in Committee of the Whole agenda). The purpose of the pedestrian core is to prioritize automated crossings in the downtown and University area. Intersections inside the core are set to automated crossing except for the intersection at Harvey Road/Long’s Hill/LeMarchant Road.

Today, the pedestrian core has been expanded to include:

Empire Avenue at King’s Bridge Road
Elizabeth Avenue at New Cove Road
Elizabeth Avenue at Torbay Road
Elizabeth Avenue at Portugal Cove Road

Map of Downtown St. John's indicating pedestrian core bounded by yellow line and intersections indicated by blue circles

Winter Pedestrian Recall

This winter, 29 intersections will be changed to automated (pedestrian signal recall) from January to end of March. Multiple factors are considered when identifying intersections for signal recall such as pedestrian volume, traffic volume, transit routes, emergency response, safety, accessibility, and environmental sustainability.

Background information is available in the City Council agenda.