Sudbury police focus on pedestrian safety after string of collisions

Morning North6:04Pedestrian and drivers... taking it to the streets

Our reporter Marina von Stackelberg took a walk in Sudbury to chat with pedestrian and drivers alike. There's been a string of pedestrian related collisions in Sudbury and we wanted to hear what people thought about walking and driving in the nickel city.

Sudbury police say they'll be paying extra attention to pedestrian safety after a string of incidents on the roads left two people injured in the past few days.

On Monday, a 43-year-old woman was struck by a vehicle on Ste. Anne Road near Elgin Street and was sent to hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

Two days later, an 81-year-old man was hit by a construction truck at the intersection of Regent Street and Walford Avenue. He died of his injuries on Friday.

And in September, a 58-year-old woman who was using a walker died after she was struck by a large piece of construction equipment onElgin Street nearBeech Street.

• Senior in critical condition after hit by truck
• Woman hit by vehicle on Ste. Anne Road
• Woman killed by construction grader on Elgin St.

The September incident occurred only a block away from Monday's collision, but police say they do not believe the nearby construction played a role in the mishap. However, the street where the crash took place was newly paved and was not painted with road markings at the time of the incident.

"When we have these events happen so close to each other, we've got to look at our role in terms of educating and enforcing,"Staff Sgt. Rick Waugh told CBC News.

Police say each incident is different and several factors are at play. For example, police officials say they are still trying to determine who is at fault for the incident on Ste. Anne Road. Authorities say in this case,the driver had the right of way as the traffic light was greenand could not see the pedestrian trying to cross the street.

You get honked at if you take too long at a crosswalk.- Matt Alexander, Sudbury pedestrian

"At that particular time, with the rain falling, it was very very dark," Waugh said."The clothing that the victim was wearing was also dark."

However, in other cases, police must evaluate several circumstances to determine whether charges should be laid.

"If you're travelling 30 kilometresover the speed limit, even though someone darts in front of your car with very little notice, your speed would be a contributing factor to your reaction time," Waugh said.

'I don't want to die'

There were more than 60 road collisions involving pedestrians in Sudbury last year, police say.

"I'm someone who walks just about everywhere, and I don't want to die," said Matt Alexander, a local resident."It gets very emotional for me."

That's why Alexander took the time to map out each reported accident in hopes of better understanding why these mishaps continue to occur.

"You get honked at if you take too long at a crosswalk. People don't wait for pedestrians to finish crossing before turning. And speed is definitely an issue," he said.

Alexander adds more data is needed from city and police officials in order to address road safety concerns in Sudbury.