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Lynn Valley’s record-breaking rain in October and evenings rendered even darker by the November 6 time change are two big reminders to walk, cycle and drive safely during the upcoming fall and winter months.

The North Van RCMP recently sent out a press release urging pedestrians to step up and ensure that they can be seen on dark streets. They partnered up with ICBC to give out personal safety reflectors at the Seabus on the morning of November 2, but if you missed that, a variety of low-cost reflective armbands, tags, and other items are available at stores like MEC and Canadian Tire.

Pedestrians are also strongly cautioned against texting or other cell phone use when walking through intersections or on roadways. (Distracted walking isn’t yet against the law, but the majority of Canadians think it should be!)

Drivers are reminded to be extra careful when turning right or left across a pedestrian crosswalk. Left turns are usually the most tricky, with drivers watching for oncoming traffic and not always being as attentive as necessary to pedestrians or cyclists crossing the road they are turning into.

However, there is a particularly bad right-hand turn in Lynn Valley, and that’s for cars turning right off of Mountain Highway on to Lynn Valley Road, by the Petro-Can gas station. Given the angle of the streets, drivers are often very slow to notice pedestrians about to step into the crosswalk, and we’ve often seen cars turning right and nearly hitting people who are crossing with the walk sign.

When it comes to crosswalks, pedestrians have to use common courtesies, too, and one of those is realizing that the flashing ‘count-down’ stop signals are not an invitation to take off from the curb to see if you can “beat the clock.” As soon as the walk signal changes to a flashing orange hand (with or without a countdown), pedestrians are to stay on the sidewalk and wait for their next opportunity to cross. Failure to do so can put them in harm’s way, as well as deny drivers any opportunity to turn on their green light.

The North Van RCMP recently launched a three-month campaign to increase awareness of, and adherence to, pedestrian regulations. They’ll be handing out educational pamphlets at first – but that could change to $109 infraction tickets.

There are more tips to be had, including these from ICBC. A few minutes spent paying attention now could make a huge difference to you or someone else in the dark days ahead.

You’ve heard of ride share companies like Uber and Lyft? Using an app service that links would-be drivers to clients, anyone can become a taxi driver. Provincial officials in British Columbia have not given the green light to the service but admit that enforcement of such services is nearly impossible. Now there may be competition to Uber and Lyft coming in the form of Chariot.

Ford Motors is buying the app-based shuttle service and partnering with a bike-share company as part of its ongoing effort to expand its traditional business.  Chariot currently operates 100 14-passenger Ford Transit vans in San Francisco and the surrounding Bay Area. The shuttles routes are determined by users’ needs. Ford says it plans to expand the shuttle service to five more cities over the next 18 months.

Ford is partnering with a company that runs bike-sharing programs in 11 U.S. cities. Ford says it plans to increase Motivate’s San Francisco fleet from 700 bikes to 7,000 bikes by 2018, using bicycles made in Detroit. It also will increase the number of stations where riders can rent bikes. Ford GoBike will be accessible through its FordPass app, which launched earlier this year.

FordPass would allow Ford car owners and non-owners to use the app to co-ordinate shared rides, rent cars or bikes and link up to public transportation. Ford is also creating a team that will work with cities around the world to propose solutions to traffic congestion and run pilot programs like shuttle services.

Half the world’s population now lives in cities, and in the next two decades may grow to 60 per cent. Cars are becoming to expensive to own or drive in big cities.  Ford has been running shuttle programs in Kansas City, New York and London for several years. Algorithms developed by Ford and Chariot will be used to map out the best route for the shuttles. Perhaps getting in and out of Lynn Valley could become a bit easier.

By Staff Writer