Vancouver pedestrians will soon be able to 'scramble' in all directions across busy downtown intersection

City councillors in Vancouver have unanimously approved a staff plan to trial a "scramble" intersection at Granville and Robson streets where pedestrians could cross in any direction, including diagonally, while traffic is completely stopped.

Scramble or all-walk intersections have long been of interest in Vancouver as a way to make the downtown core more accessible to pedestrians and to reduce collisions between vehicles and people on foot.

Previous councils have considered scramble intersections like the well known Shibuya crossing in Tokyo, where a crush of pedestrians regularly cross the road.

"I'm very excited to see this move ahead," said Coun. Peter Meiszner at a council meeting Tuesday about a version for Vancouver.

Set for summer 2024, the city will pilot a plan that would have all traffic, including buses, come to a complete halt for an average of 31 seconds — compared to 12 seconds now — so pedestrians can "scramble" across the intersection of Granville and Robson in any direction they choose.

"The pedestrian scramble is a pedestrian priority measure and it's also a safety measure" said Winston Chou, manager of traffic and data management at the City of Vancouver.

"When they are implemented, they can certainly reduce and even eliminate the conflict, the vehicle turning movement with pedestrians crossing the street."

According to a staff report, Vancouver was one of the first cities in the world to implement a pedestrian scramble, at Granville and Hastings streets, where one was in operation from 1953 until 1970.

Since 2011 the city has studied the idea of another, but considerations such as how transit would be affected, proper location and even pedestrian safety have stymied implementation.

In 2019 officials put in place an "all-walk" intersection at the intersection of Hornby Street and Robson Street, which stops all vehicle traffic to let pedestrians cross simultaneously, but it does not include a diagonal crossing.

Concern over transit delays

The staff report said the Granville-Robson intersection was chosen over three other locations (Granville and Georgia, Commercial Drive and 1st Avenue, and Denman and Davie) because it had high volumes of pedestrian traffic and would have the lowest impact on delaying transit.

"This will primarily impact Granville Street buses continuing north and south at the Granville and Robson street intersection," reads the report. "Staff have consulted with TransLink and they expressed concern with the additional delay to transit."

The report says 1,120 buses and 21,000 passengers move through the intersection each day.

Staff said signal times for the scramble intersection could be adjusted to minimize transit delays. The city plans to monitor the project "to ensure all impacts are clearly understood during the pilot phase."

Scramble intersections can also result in longer waits for pedestrians to cross, up to 60 seconds, and cause crowded sidewalks as those on foot wait for the intersection to close to vehicular traffic.

The city also said it would work with its Persons with Disabilities Advisory Committee over the implementation of the scramble intersection, as other cities which have them — including Toronto, Calgary and New York — have reported concerns from people with disabilities, such as those with sight impairment, in navigating them.

The plan for Granville and Robson is to have a pedestrian scramble time for the intersection but also allow pedestrians to cross east to west and north to south in concert with the lights directing vehicle traffic.

Staff said the project would cost about $100,000 to install.

Councillors said Tuesday the pilot project would run for at least until the first quarter of 2025, with a report expected then from staff on its operation.

The motion was also amended by councillors to have staff recommend other options for additional scramble crossings and other pedestrian priority initiatives in Vancouver, "to continue advancing a pedestrian-friendly city and safety."