A crosswalk at the entrance to Granville Island in Vancouver has a new feature to help pedestrians cross safely — and it’s not what you’d expect.
On either side of the crosswalk, pedestrians are invited to take a red foam brick that they can wave while crossing, to grab the attention of drivers.
“It’s meant to be a joke, but it has a serious message underneath,” says Mihai Cirstea, a volunteer with Vision Zero Vancouver, a non-profit organization that aims to reduce traffic deaths and injuries in the region.
“It’s super effective once [drivers] see you’re holding a brick — like, oh yeah, I better stop and let this person go. So it gives the power back, kind of, to the pedestrian.”
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An April Fools’ Day initiative inviting pedestrians to pick up a free foam brick in order to stop traffic at Vancouver’s Granville Island has received a lot of attention. Lucy Maloney of Vision Zero Vancouver explains how it came together.
Cirstea says the April Fools’ Day initiative was inspired by flag crosswalks in other municipalities, where pedestrians wave a flag as they walk through.
Cirstea and Granville Island residents say more work needs to be done to improve pedestrian safety in the busy area — especially on Anderson Street, the main road into the island — including raised crosswalks and proper signage.
Data from the Insurance Corporation of B.C. shows that there were 10 crashes alone at the intersection of Anderson Street and Island Park Walk, which forms part of the seawall, between 2018 and 2022. Five of them resulted in an injury or fatality.
Claudette Abgrall, who has worked near the entrance of Granville Island for over five years, says she’s witnessed cars speeding on the road into the area several times.
“[Drivers] come speeding in sometimes at a ridiculous speed, right in front of the kids’ market,” she said. “Where are they going in such a hurry?”
Abgrall says she’s complained to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, which manages Granville Island, asking them to add speed signage in the area or hire people to facilitate pedestrian crossing on busy days.
Cirstea says Vision Zero Vancouver had previously raised concerns with the city about the Anderson Street crosswalk at the entrance to Granville Island, and suggested permanent solutions such as reducing the number of traffic lanes and raising the walkway.
He says the organization plans to leave the foam bricks and sign past April Fools’ Day, but doubts the city will allow them to remain.
Improving crosswalk safety
Granville Island spokesperson Cate Simpson said the crosswalk at the intersection of the seawall and Anderson Street is on City of Vancouver property, but added there is always concern when safety issues are raised.
“It is my understanding that Granville Island has reached out to the City of Vancouver in the past about improving safety at that particular intersection,” she said.
In a statement, the City of Vancouver says pedestrian safety is one of its top priorities and it has worked on improving visibility at the intersection of Anderson Street and Island Park Walk, “including enhancing the crossing with green paint and zebra markings, and lowering the speed limit from 50 km/h to 30 km/h.”
“The support columns for the bridge — located right beside the crosswalk — however, present a challenge with visibility so we advise motorists to use caution when approaching the crossing as they enter Granville Island,” the statement added.
The city says it’s continuing to add more safety features to the crossing, including flashing pedestrian walk signals — though these can take up to two years to install due to the design and approvals process.
“Our safety campaigns focus on all road users being mindful of each other and promoting a culture of safety — not about creating conflict between different road users,” it said.