The first pedestrian crossover in Essex County will be operational in the next two weeks.
The County of Essex installed the crossover on Walker Rd. between Hwy. 3 and South Talbot Rd. to give pedestrians a safe place to cross at the connection from the Chrysler Greenway to the Trans Canada Trail.
Manager of Transportation Planning Jane Mustac says they are working hard to educate motorists of the need to stop.
"There is an overhead pedestrian sign and of course there is pavement markings, sharks teeth yield signs and ladder crosswalks and there is a push button flashing activated beacons so that they will be made aware that somebody is trying to cross the road," says Mustac.
She says unlike a crosswalk motorists and cyclists are required by law to stop at the crosswalk until the pedestrian has fully cleared the intersection.
"A crosswalk is typically at intersections and for instance when you're making a right you only have to wait for the pedestrian to clear your path, at the crossover you have to wait for the pedestrian to clear the entire roadway," says Mustac.
Mustac says they will be using this crossover as a kind of pilot project to help determine the best use for these types of crossings throughout the count.
"This one is a perfect location to connect two very major trail networks so we'll do some best management practices to determine the warrants for other locations," says Mustac.
The installation of the signage and signaled beacon cost the County of Essex an estimated $55,000.