When it comes to getting around by foot, the compact city of New Westminster, B.C., talks the talk — but a concerned citizens group wants to know if it also walks the walk.

The Walkers' Caucus, an advocacy group for pedestrians, plans to conduct a survey of the city's crosswalks on Saturday to find out if there is enough time to make it across the road at intersections.

"We probably have in New West around about 20 [pedestrian] injuries a year, or 25 — that's too many," said Vic Leach, who's organizing the study.

Across the province, there are almost 60 pedestrian fatalities each year. About 75 per cent of pedestrian accidents happen at intersections.

Reena Meijer Drees, one of the founders of the caucus, says even a few extra seconds to cross can make a big difference — especially for older pedestrians.

Standing at the intersection of Sixth Avenue and Sixth Street in New Westminster, she watched pedestrian after pedestrian struggle to cross the road in time.

One woman only made it halfway across before the light turned green and a bus started moving toward her.

"It happens every crossing," Drees told the CBC.

"This is a huge retirement community so I don't understand why this intersection is so quickly timed. There are tons of people with rolling devices."

Vic Leach is organizing the study. (Jake Costello/CBC)

A few seconds

In B.C., four feet per second is judged to be the standard crosswalk speed. A similar U.S. guideline slows that down to 3½ feet per second.

A few years ago, a University of Manitoba masters student dedicated her thesis to the topic and found that older people are more comfortable at three feet per second.

But according to New Westminster Coun. Patrick Johnstone, simply adding more time to each crosswalk signal would have significant knock-on effects.

He says there is a constant battle between keeping pedestrians safe while still addressing the thousands of cars that pass through the city's streets each day.

"We can add four or five seconds when you are trying to cross the street but that does have impacts all the way down the line in the transportation system," Johnstone said.

Shawn Marsolais, who is blind, struggles to find and use the crosswalk buttons at some intersections. (Jake Costello/CBC)

Checking crosswalks

The caucus is also taking notes of whether there is a countdown clock, audio cue, bicycle control button and curb ramps at each of the intersections.

Shawn Marsolais has less than two per cent vision and, even though she grew up in the city and knows it well, she often doesn't know where the crosswalk buttons are.

"When it's not a busy intersection but there is a light, I have no idea when it's green or red," she said.

Marsolais, who is executive director of the non-profit Blind Beginnings, says she prefers to listen to the cars instead of relying on crosswalk signals.

Johnstone says New Westminster will look at any data the group collects when it updates its transportation plan.

With files from Jake Costello and The Early Edition.