There could be a pedestrian crossing in place on Dickinson Road.
At its meeting Monday, District of Lantzville council instructed staff to provide a report outlining the feasibility and various options for a possible pedestrian crossing on Dickinson Road near Oar Road.
The crosswalk would be placed near the end of the Lantzville Trail and would help guide people toward Oar Road, where there is access to the beach.
Recommendation for a staff report was put forward by Coun. Mark Swain, who said among the options that should be considered is the potential for an illuminated warning system.
Coun. Denise Haime, who is also chair of the parks and recreation commission, said if Lantzville wants residents to use trails and public spaces, they need to ensure they are safe, adding that a report will be a good starting point to make crossings and trails safer.
“If we are going to encourage people to be walking trials and riding bikes we got to make it safe for them,” she said.
Coun. Dot Neary, who supported the recommendation, questioned where the crossing fits into the grand scheme of pedestrian safety in the district.
“I am quite certain that there is an abundance of crossings, roads, pathways that would benefit from the same kind of crossing within Lantzville,” she said. “I think it depends as much on usage, numbers of people who are using these different routes and no doubt it could be justified in a multitude of areas within the district. So I am little leery of just jumping to action based on a request.”
Coun. Will Geselbracht suggested that the best solution might be building a tunnel, adding that a street-level crosswalk would give pedestrians a “false” sense of security.
“The problem I see with putting a signal there is you’re going to give Mom and the kids a false sense that somebody is going to stop and then they’re going to get picked off as opposed to knowing that nobody is going to stop and just waiting,” he said.