Why some Vancouver crosswalks have begun giving pedestrians a head start
If you’ve noticed some crosswalks in Vancouver behaving differently, you’re not losing your marbles, and there’s a reason behind the changes.
Daily Hive Urbanized noticed some changes in the way lights and pedestrian crosswalks behave along Homer Street in recent weeks.
The effect of the change is that before the traffic light changes from red to green, the pedestrian light changes first, allowing a pedestrian to walk before allowing the driver to proceed.
Here’s how it looks in action:
Some #Vancouver intersections, like Homer and Helmcken, are seeing leading pedestrian interval changes.
Story incoming. pic.twitter.com/x7Ooqf5Fgo
— Amir Ali ⌨️☕️🏴☠️ (@AmirsDoingItAll) November 4, 2025
This change is part of the leading pedestrian intervals (LPI) program implemented by the City of Vancouver.
According to some information we received from the City of Vancouver, the first LPI was implemented in 2014 at Davie and Burrard. The pilot was relaunched in 2018 at two locations.
“For the pilot, a video conflict analysis was completed in partnership with UBC. The study showed LPIs have resulted in up to 20 per cent reduction in total conflicts between pedestrians and vehicles and up to 60 per cent reduction in high-severity conflicts between pedestrians and vehicles,” a statement from the City said.
Due to positive results from the pilot, the City decided to keep the pilot locations and formalize the program.
“Currently, we complete 30 locations per year. To date, we have installed a total of 98 LPIs,” the City added.
According to the City of Vancouver, the LPIs allow pedestrians a three to seven-second head start. Other cities that have seen successful results from LPIs include Surrey and New York.
Daily Hive Urbanized shared a little bit about some of the changes relating to LPIs in a story last year.
LPIs allow pedestrians to enter the crosswalk a few seconds before vehicles are given a green light, which improves their visibility before vehicles have priority to turn right or left.
An approved motion specifically directs City staff to increase the number of pedestrian traffic signals, rapid flashing beacons, and zebra markings and double or triple the number of LPI crossings in the 2023-2026 capital plan. It also explores restricting right turns on red lights at LPI-enabled intersections.
Have you noticed the change in any other Vancouver neighbourhoods recently?