Crosswalks, crossovers create confusion in Ottawa as new law takes effect

A new law intended to makeOntario's roads safer for pedestriansis instead causing confusion among both motorists and those attempting to cross the street in front of them.

As of Jan.1, drivers stopped at a crossover must wait until pedestrians have stepped completely off the road before driving through the intersection.

A crossover is a pedestrian crossing where signsand in many cases overhead flashing yellow lights alert drivers to come to a stop. A crosswalk on the other hand is used at stop signs and traffic lights in Ontario. Crosswalks often havea white walking symbol and a flashing orange hand.

The newlaw also applies to crosswalks when a school crossing guard is present. Breaking it could costs motorists up to$500 in fines.

The problem is that few people appear to know the difference between a crossover and a crosswalk.

'What do I do here?'

Ottawa police Sgt. Mark Gatien, who's responsible for traffic enforcement, says he'sbeen busy responding to questions from confused residents, both on the phone and on social media.

"They're asking questions about crosswalks, crossovers. 'What do I do here? What don't I do here? What about this crosswalk?'"said Gatien.

The City of Ottawa doesn't currently have any crossovers, but a pilot project approved in September 2015 will see the city install more than 180 of them by 2018, beginning in June 2016.

A large number of the crossovers will be installed at roundabouts, where currentlypedestrians must yield to vehicles.

According to a city report tabled last September, the city installed a "large number" of crossovers back in the 1960s. But bythe 1970s, the crossovers "were questioned in terms of safety."By the late 1990s, the city had removed all of its crossovers, replacing many of themwith traffic lights.

"Now that the new law is in place and we have some more enforcement tools available to us, the crossovers will be coming back to Ottawa as of this summer time," said Gatien.