Helden wins fight for light

By Dan Hilborn
Published Feb. 18, 204


Frank Helden remembers the day when one of his neighbours riding a motorized scooter got trapped in the middle of traffic while trying to cross Kingsway in that long stretch without a crosswalk in front of Central Park.

Cars and trucks were buzzing around on all sides of the hapless senior citizen. None of the drivers was willing to stop and allow the senior to complete his journey from one side of the busy six- lane road to the other.

But Helden, an 85-year-old veteran of the Royal Marines who stormed the beaches of Normandy on D-Day more than 50 years ago, knew exactly how to rescue his neighbour.

With all the confidence of a decorated veteran, Helden raised his arm in a show of defiance and marched out into the middle of traffic pushing his own walker in front of him.

"I just wanted to help that guy get across the road," Helden said this week. "I was pretty upset, because of lot of those people are not very good drivers."

But Helden's days of crossing dangerously are now behind him after the city of Burnaby installed a new $75,000 pedestrian- controlled crossing light that is expected to make walking and riding a stroller a whole lot safer on one of the city's busiest streets.

Helden had been complained about the lack of a crossing lights in the area ever since he first moved into a nearby highrise more than six years ago. On Tuesday, he became the first person to officially push the button to activate the new crossing light.

"It's been quite a problem," Helden said this week of the difficulties pedestrians have trying to cross Kingsway in that 750- metre stretch between the Telus overpass and Patterson Street.

"I see other people trying to cross the street here, and the cars just run murderously through," he said.

Officials at Burnaby city hall admitted that finding a safe way for pedestrians to cross the street in this location posed some unusual problems. If city hall was to follow its own guidelines, this section of road did not have enough pedestrian traffic to warrant a crossing light.

Several years ago, the city engineering department originally recommended a simple marked crosswalk across the road, augmented by a raised 'pedestrian island' at the halfway point across the street to offer walkers a safe refuge.

But when staff discovered the cost of building an island in the middle of the busy thoroughfare was almost the same price as a traffic light, they recommended the pedestrian-activated signal to the delight of Helden and his neighbours.

According to a report presented to Burnaby city council in September, 2002, Inman had the highest number of pedestrian and vehicle collisions of any point on Kingsway between Boundary and Patterson over the past ten years.

The report showed that Inman Avenue was the site of one pedestrian fatality and three collisions, while the there was only one collision at Smith Avenue, two collisions at Patterson, and three collisions at Jersey Avenue.

Helden is also pleased to see the new crossing light also comes with several unique features for blind pedestrians. The button itself emits a low volume 'ping' sound so the visually impaired can activate the signal, then once the walk signal is given, there is a chirping sound to direct pedestrians across the street, while a verbal countdown tells pedestrians exactly how much time they have left until traffic starts flowing again.