SPOKANE, Wash. — The city of Spokane is considering an ordinance to improve pedestrian safety.
It would change how "walk" signals work at stoplights throughout Spokane.
According to the Washington Department of Transportation, Spokane had 162 pedestrian versus motorist collisions in 2018. Twenty-four of the incidents resulted in serious injuries, and four were fatalities.
The majority of these incidents happened in the downtown core.
To address these numbers, the City of Spokane wants to make changes to its crosswalks over the course of about five years.
More than half of all of Spokane's signalized intersections require pedestrians to push the button to activate the "walk" signal. But with the new ordinance, the "walk" signal would automatically turn on as part of the traffic cycle. That way it wouldn't matter if a walker pressed the button or not.
The ordinance also encourages the use of "Leading Pedestrian Intervals." That means pedestrians would get a three to seven second head start before drivers in parallel lanes are given the green light. This is supposed to increase pedestrian visibility.
Spokane has 32 Accessible Pedestrian Signals out of its 263 signalized intersections. "APS" is a verbal command device used at crosswalks for blind or low-vision walkers. The ordinance would have these devices installed at all intersections with signals by 2025.
The city council will vote on the proposed ordinance on Monday.