About 1,000 pedestrians, 500 drivers and 400 cyclists received timely reminders about crossing some of the city's most dangerous corridors without a trip to the hospital, during a three-week safety blitz funded by the Province and led by Vancouver Police.

A spike in local pedestrian deaths - nine to date this year, compared with five in all of 2010 - led the Province and Vancouver Police Department to collaborate on a pedestrian safety campaign. The Province provided $30,000 through its Enhanced Traffic Enforcement Program for extra police enforcement on high-traffic corridors. The resulting Pedestrian Enforcement Initiative focused on raising awareness about pedestrian safety and high-risk behaviours that jeopardize it.

The initiative ran during peak traffic periods from Aug. 22 to Sept. 12, with:

• Officers speaking to an estimated 1,002 pedestrians, 525 drivers and 385 cyclists, to whom they issued 870 verbal warnings, 792 tickets and 750 pamphlets.
• 142 pedestrians cited for disobeying traffic signals, unsafe use of crosswalks, jaywalking and other offences.
• 414 drivers ticketed for running red or yellow lights, not wearing seatbelts, using hand-held electronic devices, speeding, failing to yield to pedestrians, and other offences.
• 236 cyclists halted - 174 of them for riding without helmets, and most others for running red lights or riding on the sidewalk.

Officers involved monitored three corridors containing the highest concentrations of pedestrian injuries and fatalities: Hastings Street between Abbott and Nanaimo, Burrard Street between Dunsmuir and Davie, and East Broadway from Ontario to Commercial.

Quotes:

VPD Traffic Unit, Inspector Ted Schinbein -

"Our officers would rather issue warnings and tickets than try to explain a completely avoidable death to a grieving family. Going forward, we truly hope these corridors will be safer for everyone who's using them."

Quick Facts:

• Over the past five years, more than four out of five crashes involving pedestrians in Vancouver occurred at intersections.
• Two-thirds of the road deaths in Vancouver since Jan. 1, 2011 were of pedestrians - nine of 14.
• In all of 2010, five of the city's nine motor-vehicle-related fatalities were pedestrians.
• In 2009, 10 of 16 were pedestrians.

Learn More:

ICBC has information on road safety for road users for all ages: www.icbc.com/road-safety

Parents and educators can find free road safety learning resources at:

www.icbc.com/road-safety/roadsafety-activities/educators

Vancouver Police community services are detailed at: vancouver.ca/police/index.html

View information on the rules of the road in B.C.:

www.pssg.gov.bc.ca/osmv/road-safety/rules.htm

Follow DriveBC on Twitter for updates on current road conditions: www.twitter.com/drivebc

Contacts:

Government Communications and Public Engagement
Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General
250 356-6961

Cst. Lindsey Houghton
Media Relations Officer
Vancouver Police Department
604 717-3679 or 604 205-4686

Connect with the Province of B.C. at: www.gov.bc.ca/connect