Fewer pedestrians hit in 2015: report

Halifax Regional Police released a report Monday showing 2015 had fewer vehicle/pedestrian collisions than the previous year.

Here’s a quick rundown.

This comes after a year in which pedestrian safety was a hot topic.

The municipality launched Heads Up Halifax, a pedestrian safety campaign, in late 2014 and carried it over to 2015. The campaign delivered the message that everyone shares in the responsibility to be safe on the road. That means drivers being more aware of their surroundings and pedestrians not darting into a crosswalk.

A pedestrian advocacy group also popped up last year; Walk Halifax, which focused on making Halifax a more pedestrian-friendly city.

Community members have added reflector flags to more than 50 crosswalks across the city. According to Crosswalk Flags, a website by Norm Collins advocating for crosswalk safety, there are now nearly 70 crosswalks with flags in the HRM.

The end of 2015 saw a major hike in the fine for jaywalking. City council approved bumping the fine to almost $700, which caused significant backlash. Many say the fine is unfair to pedestrians.

Other stats included in the police report showed Thursday was the most common day for collisions and the 7-8 p.m. timeframe was the most dangerous.