The city will be taking a closer look at whether a new pedestrian crossing along 15th Avenue is necessary.
Following a petition and presentation to council by the Aboriginal Business and Development Centre, city staff will undertake a comprehensive study to determine if the busy road requires a controlled crosswalk at Quinn Street.
"It's something the city of Prince George needs for driver and pedestrian safety," said centre employee Kallie Smith.
That location is particularly bad because of a nearby bus stop, Smith said, where centre employees regularly witnessed disembarking passengers jaywalking to get to the residences along the north side of 15th Avenue.
The centre circulated a petition for almost two months this summer at neighbouring businesses and homes, collecting 148 signatures.
Overall feedback on the initiative was overwhelmingly positive, said Smith.
Preliminary work had already been done prior to the council meeting, said operations superintendent Bill Gaal. Counts completed during peak hours Sept. 25, Oct. 24 and Oct. 29 indicated an average of five pedestrians crossing the road between the existing crossings at Ospika Boulevard and Nicholson Street.
ICBC crash data between 2008 and 2012 offered a total of nine incidents in the area, none of which involved pedestrians, Gaal added.
The Aboriginal Business Development Centre presenters said they counted 27 people jaywalking along the thoroughfare during a two-hour period on an "average Monday afternoon."
A more comprehensive engineering study would provide the rationale in favour of or against creating a new crossing, said Coun. Murry Krause. "Us going to this length would not necessarily mean a crosswalk happens," he cautioned.
