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South Surrey crossings to get pedestrian-controlled traffic lights

Nearby schools ‘thrilled’ with project after lobbying for lights since 2011.
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Installation of pedestrian lights on 148 Street at the 17 Avenue and 18A Avenue intersections is expected to get underway this week.

Parents with children attending Semiahmoo Secondary and HT Thrift Elementary – and motorists who use 148 Street as part of their regular commute – are being asked to be extra attentive when travelling the thoroughfare in the coming weeks, as efforts get underway to install pedestrian-activated traffic lights at two of the thoroughfare’s intersections.

The lights are to be erected at 17 Avenue and 18A Avenue – where marked pedestrian crossings already exist.

At 17 Avenue, an existing pedestrian-activated amber light setup will be upgraded, transportation manager Jamie Boan said. Once complete, both intersections will have a “standard” pedestrian light – flashing green that changes to amber, then red when activated by a pedestrian.

Boan said the project arose out of school-safety reviews that were undertaken in 2011.

Each pedestrian light costs about $120,000, he said. By the end of this year, about $4 million in projects will have been completed.

School district spokesman Doug Strachan said the school communities are “thrilled” the lights are being installed.

The road is a busy one, particularly in the morning and mid-afternoon. Despite the existing marked crossings, motorists often do not stop for students or other pedestrians trying to navigate across 148 Street safely. Speed of traffic along the route has also been a regular concern.

Installation is expected to begin this week and continue into November.



Tracy Holmes

About the Author: Tracy Holmes

Tracy Holmes has been a reporter with Peace Arch News since 1997.
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