Pedestrian safety shouldn’t rely on wearing bright clothing: Vancouver councillor | Daily Hive

Pedestrian safety shouldn’t rely on wearing bright clothing, suggests Vancouver city councillor

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Next week, Vancouver City Council is expected to endorse City of Vancouver staff’s recommendations to gradually implement reduced 30 km/h speed limits for all local minor streets — down from the current provincial default of 50 km/h — and expand the installation of speed humps (speed bumps) and other traffic calming measures.

The municipal government estimates that if it were to conduct a full rollout right away, it would cost $14 million to install new speed limit signs on every applicable city block with such speed limits. For this reason, a phased approach is being pursued for a small fraction of the full rollout cost.

However, a new member motion by OneCity city councillor Lucy Maloney separately calls for further action to reduce the likelihood of deaths and serious injuries as a result of vehicle collisions.

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According to ICBC data she pulled, 3,079 pedestrians and 3,505 cyclists were injured in incidents with vehicles between 2020 and 2024, with crashes also injuring over 36,000 vehicle occupants. At least 10 people have died from incidents in Vancouver every year in the past decade, except 2020, with the highest number of annual fatalities occurring in 2021 when 22 people died. Furthermore, between 2018 and 2023, pedestrians and cyclists accounted for 60 per cent of road fatalities.

Moreover, seniors account for nearly half of all pedestrian deaths in crashes, even though they account for roughly one-fifth of Vancouver’s total population.

“Zero deaths and injuries on our streets is an ambitious goal, and it is a goal we can achieve. We know what works to make our roads safe for everyone who uses them. We just need to do it,” said Maloney in a statement.

The motion by the newly elected city councillor during the recent by-election calls for reviewing the city’s existing strategies and creating a new road safety policy and action plan for consideration by Spring 2026. She also wants the new policies to “prioritize measures shown to substantially reduce serious traffic injuries and deaths, and eliminate measures that have not proven to be effective.”

In a news release this week by OneCity that supports Maloney’s member motion for consideration, she further states that “this means moving away from ineffective interventions, like campaigns that attempt to persuade pedestrians to wear high-visibility gear, and towards more effective interventions that address dangerous driver behaviour, like road redesigns, speed reductions and better visibility at intersections so all road users can see each other coming and keep each other safe.”

This goes against the longstanding practice by local authorities — including the RCMP, Vancouver Police, ICBC, and the City of Vancouver — of advising pedestrians and cyclists to wear bright, colourful, or reflective clothing, rather than dark clothing, to enhance their visibility to drivers, particularly during night and in poor weather conditions.

However, this clothing guidance by various authorities is emphasized as one safety measure among many, not as the sole focus, which also aims to strongly discourage dangerous driving behaviour.

Such clothing-related messaging by ICBC, for instance, typically occurs at the start of the seasonal transition into the darker months of the year, fall and winter, when about 1,200 pedestrians are involved in a crash across the province.

“As the seasons change, it’s essential for drivers to adapt to reduced visibility. Increased rain, fog, or snow can make it more difficult to see pedestrians. This is a time when we should all slow down, stay alert, and ensure our headlights and windshield wipers are functioning properly. For pedestrians, it’s important to wear reflective clothing, use crosswalks, and remain extra cautious when crossing streets,” said Mike Farnworth, who was B.C.’s Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General in October 2023, in an ICBC news release.

Todd Preston, president of the B.C. Association of Chiefs of Police, added at the time: “We all need to do our part to improve pedestrian safety on our roads this fall. The days are getting shorter which means pedestrians will be navigating roads in the dark. When driving, please take extra time to look for pedestrians, especially at intersections. As a pedestrian, use designated crosswalks, make eye contact with drivers and wear light colours and reflectors.”

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