A temporary traffic initiative in the City of Kingston has residents worked up.

A recent posting on social media from the City of Kingston giving residents a heads up about pedestrian flags being temporarily installed is drawing many mixed feelings from city residents. The flags were installed at the N. Front and Crown St crosswalk. The posting states that by carrying the flag from one side of the crosswalk to the other, the flags will make pedestrians more visible to drivers.

 

Be a Road Hero: Traffic Safety Campaign

Engage Kingston, a website that acts as an online platform for residents to discuss infrastructure, planning and program initiatives, and current issues has launched an initiative to improve traffic safety for motorists, cyclists, and pedestrians.

The "Be a Road Hero" campaign is involved with the temporary installation of the pedestrian flags at the N. Front and Crown St crosswalk and is looking for feedback from residents. "Is this a useful tool for safety?" a poll reads on the site. At the time of the publishing of this article, 107 votes have been cast, and 92% of those polled say that the pedestrian flags are not a good idea.

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The post regarding the pedestrian flags at the crosswalk at the City of Kingston Facebook page has garnered over 500 comments, with mixed reviews, some on board with the safety measure, and many laughing at the campaign. Comments regarding the initiative have some calling it  "stupid" and "ridiculous", along with concerns about the flags being stolen.

 

The Negative:

That's just stupid. And the flag(s) will disappear.

-Kathleen Fern Suess

 

This is ridiculous! Treating adults like they're mentally unstable. Other countries wouldn't even do this for toddlers. Make the roads and streets safe for bikes and pedestrians through properly built infrastructure! Jesus!

-Robert Barnhart

 

We are not worried anymore about passing on germs by numerous people touching that flag?

-Tammy Litts

 

The positive:

Good job Kingston! A recent study conducted by the Transportation Research Board indicates that Pedestrian Crossing Flags are effective. Drivers yielded significantly more often when the flags were used. You have implemented an inexpensive and effective way to improve the safety of pedestrians in your city. Yes - inexpensive and effective, exactly what we need from government, and still so many criticize and complain.

-Charles Steven Ferry

 

Great safety idea especially for the safety of short people (like me) or kids. Simple and could be life saving especially in high traffic areas. Different states and localities have different rules and when you have a lot of visitors coming to your town you have to improvise. I just noticed there are a lot of angry responses to this idea. I am assuming hiring crossing guards was not a feasible idea. That of course would be preferable. I also assume there has been a problem thus they are trying something new in Kingston to try to fix it.

-Colleen Theresa McSpirit

We shall see how this safety campaign works out, but at the moment, things don't seem very positive from the looks of the feedback.

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