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Pedestrian safety subject of upcoming forum

One New Westminster man is hoping he can encourage more pedestrians to wear reflective strips in winter by making the items more accessible.
Lucy
Flowers, photos and messages of condolences are posted to a street pole at Fifth Avenue and Sixth Street in honour of a woman who died in hospital on Nov. 29 after being hit by car while crossing Sixth Street.

One New Westminster man is hoping he can encourage more pedestrians to wear reflective strips in winter by making the items more accessible.

Every winter, Vic Leach hears of pedestrians being killed or injured by drivers, and when one of his friends was almost hit in December while crossing in a crosswalk near Royal Columbian Hospital, he couldn’t help but wonder why.

After some research, Leach found that while most agencies, including police departments, the City of New Westminster and ICBC, recommend pedestrians wear reflective strips when walking after dark, especially in winter, getting your hands on the strips is not as convenient as one would think.

Locally, there are only about two stores that sell wearable reflector strips – Bosley’s pet store at Columbia Square and Cap’s bike shop in Sapperton.

“They’re not normal places you’d really think about,” Leach said.

(Reflective clothing is available at Army & Navy and other work wear stores, but Leach thinks most people don’t want to wear an entire reflective coat.)

In New Westminster there have been several pedestrian fatalities this winter, including an elderly woman who was struck while crossing Sixth Street at Fifth Avenue in November. In March 2013, Safeway employee Gemma Snowball was struck and killed as she crossed in the crosswalk at Sixth Avenue and Sixth Street.

According to the World Health Organization, around the world about 1.24 million people die each year on the road.

In countries such as Sweden, Denmark and Norway, there are national reflector days in October to provide people with reflectors. This is the type of initiative Leach wants to bring to New Westminster.

“We should step up to the plate and try and find out if we can get more reflective material, as a preventative measure, so that people have places to buy it,” he said.

Leach wants to make reflective strips more accessible, starting with sales in drugstores during the winter.

“There are very simple things that could be done, like putting it on to reusable shopping bags. Why couldn’t, when you buy your insurance for your car, you get a reflector?” he said.

Leach has organized a “Reflection for Safety” forum in February to discuss strategies to encourage pedestrians to wear or carry reflective strips. Representatives from the New Westminster police and fire departments, City of New Westminster, Transit Police, B.C. Ambulance Service, ICBC, and the Community Against Preventable Injuries, will all be on hand to answer questions from the public.

While the Sapperton Old Age Pensioners Association is hosting the forum, anyone from the community is welcome to attend and share their thoughts and ideas on the subject, Leach said.

The forum is on Tuesday, Feb. 10 from 9 to 11 a.m. at the Sapperton pensioners’ hall, 318 Keary St.