Which Montreal intersections pose most danger to pedestrians?

This year is starting out to be a deadly onefor pedestrians in Montreal four people have been killed already.That'sprompting calls for more security measures in the streets.

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Where are the most dangerous spots for pedestrians in the Montreal area?

CBC's French-languageservice, Radio-Canada, analyzed a total of 4,700 accidents between 2011 and 2014 to find out.

Over thatperiod, 4,825 pedestrians were injured.

That's according to data compiled by the Quebec auto insurance board (SAAQ),based on reports by the Montreal police.

While most of those cases resulted in minor injuries, 59 people died.

• Tap here for an interactive map of accidents involving pedestrians and vehicles 2011-2014 (intersections with 3 or fewer incidents not shown)

The most dangerous intersections for pedestrians in Montreal are:

• Beaubien Street andPie-IX Boulevard.
• Henri-BourassaBoulevardandLacordaire Boulevard.
• Saint-Denis Street andRen-Lvesque Boulevard East.
• Robert BoulevardandViau Street.
• Sherbrooke Street Eastanddu Trianon Street.
• Saint-Denis Street andMont-Royal Avenue.

Our interactive indicates there were 26 accidents at Pierre Elliott Trudeau airport. Note that they may not all have occurred at thesame intersection. Experts interviewed for this story say police tend not to specify the exact location of an accident that happens at the airport, so we were unable to pinpoint the precise location of each of those incidents.

Traffic density, speed contribute

Collisions involving pedestrians and vehicles tend to be more frequent in downtown Montreal, where the population density is higher.

The area aroundConcordia University's downtown campusis particularly dangerous: Over four years, there were a total of 21 accidents on Guy Streetbetween Ren-Lvesqueand deMaisonneuveboulevards.

"It's a very busy intersectionfor pedestrians and drivers, partly because of Sainte-Catherine Street and Concordia University," said Marie-Soleil Cloutier, a specialist in road safetyat Montreal's l'Institut national de la recherche scientifique (INRS).

Cloutier adds thatfactors including thewidth of lanes, the location of bus stops, the direction of traffic (whether one-way or two-way), as well as the volumeof traffic and its speed contribute to the frequency of pedestrian accidents.

More accidents in winter and during rush hour

Nearly one-third of incidents that led to a pedestrian injuryhappened between 3 p.m. and 6 p.m., according to data from the SAAQ.

The numbers increase towards the end of the week 1,728 pedestrians were injured ona Thursday orFriday between 2011 and 2014, or close to 37 per cent of the total.

Radio-Canada's analysis also suggests that accidents are more frequent during the fall and the winter.

More than 2,000 pedestrians incidents, or 43 per cent, happened between October and January.

Aref Salem, Montreal'sexecutive committee member responsible for transportation, said the city aimsto reduce the number ofpedestrians accidents by 40 per cent between 2008 and 2017.

"There's been a lot of work [constructing] curb extensionsand reducing speed limits," he said.

The City of Montreal is also working to improve safety measures, specifically in the GouinBoulevard and Laurentian Boulevard area.

Six lanes will be reduced to two,the sidewalks will be widened, and signals for pedestrians will be installed.