Drumheller RCMP is asking drivers and pedestrians to be more cognizant on the streets.
When summer rolls around in Drumheller there is a marked increase of pedestrian traffic in town as visitors from all over explore what the valley has to offer. According to Staff Sergeant Art Hopkins this also increases the possibility of injury.
“We have lots of pedestrian traffic, and we are getting lots of complaints of people failing to yield to pedestrians,” said Hopkins. There haven’t been any incidents, it is just one of those things that drivers have to be more cognizant of people walking and crossing roads.”
He said there are a number of places of concern in town including the crosswalk near the Noodle House, and while there is an underpass at Gordon Taylor Bridge, many still cross the road in the area.
“Just because there is not a painted crosswalk, doesn’t mean there is not a cross walk there. At every intersection, painted or not, it is considered to be a crosswalk,” said Hopkins. “If people are at a corner, they are going to cross. It is a matter of drivers being cognizant of that.”
He adds that because Drumheller is a tourism destination, it may mean being even more careful. Often drivers and pedestrians can be from out of town, and unfamiliar with roadways in the valley.
“When you look at the stats, we have more tourists here than in the past, and those people are on our streets, they are leaving money here and going home and talking to their friends,” said Hopkins. “We don’t like them going back and say the drivers are bad.”
“At the end of the day it is easy to say the person shouldn’t be there, but at the end of the day, the driver is responsible for the movement of the vehicle. It is easy to put the blame on someone else, but if everybody went just that little bit further and paid more attention, pedestrians and drivers.”
