The City of Vancouver plans to test a pedestrian “scramble” crossing on Robson Street, creating an intersection where car traffic is stopped in all directions to allow pedestrians to cross in any way, including diagonally.

The test crossing will be evaluated as a possible remedy for pedestrian-vehicle collisions at busy intersections, according to the city’s newly released Transportation 2040 plan.

Robson Street was identified as a good location for scramble crossings — also called ‘X’ crossings, diagonal crossings, pedestrian scramble phases or Barnes dances — because it is one of the city’s busiest areas for pedestrian traffic, said transportation director Jerry Dobrovolny.

Because pedestrian and vehicle traffic transverse the scramble intersection at different times, Dobrovolny wrote in an email, the possibility for collisions is reduced.

He did not identify which intersections are being considered for the test, nor a timeline for the pilot project, but said an analysis of potential locations will be conducted and recommendations will be reported to council.

Other Canadian cities are also testing the viability of scramble crossings. In 2008, Calgary implemented two of the systems in its downtown core. That same year, Toronto installed one scramble crossing at Yonge and Dundas, and has since added two more.

Myles Currie, director of Toronto’s transportation services, said the systems were installed to improve the flow of pedestrian traffic across the intersections, noting that thousands of pedestrians use each crossing daily.

The intersections are identified using signs, as well as additional road markings and pedestrian signals for the diagonal crossings, said Currie.

A speaker system also announces all-direction crossing and helps those that are visually impaired make their way across the intersections safely, added Toronto’s urban traffic control systems manager Rajnath Bissessar.

Bissessar added that each crossing cost the city between $50,000 and $60,000 to install.

In 2011, Richmond became B.C.’s only city with a scramble crossing at Number 1 Road and Moncton Street.

“The project has been successful,” said Richmond spokesman Ted Townsend. “We’re monitoring it for about six months and plan to report back to council in the fall and at that point [we’ll] indicate whether or not we think that it’s a concept we should look at for other intersections.”

Townsend added Richmond has received some negative feedback — primarily from motorists — that the scramble crossing has slowed down vehicular movement. But, he said, the point of the intersection was to improve pedestrian access, and the city knew there would be some backlash from drivers.

Richmond is not the first city in B.C. to have a scramble crossing. In the 1950s Vancouver allowed all-directional pedestrian traffic at two intersections along Granville Street. The practice was later abandoned because the crossings were deemed ineffective in those locations, said Dobrovolny, noting they caused longer waiting times for both vehicles and pedestrians.

Other cities with scramble crossings have also scaled back the extent to which all-directional pedestrian movement is allowed.

Denver, Colo. eliminated the diagonal aspect of its extensive downtown scramble crossing system — installed in 1952 — in 2011. The intersections still allow for pedestrians to cross both streets at the same time, but the diagonal walk signals have been removed.

Among other problems, the diagonal crossings were “limiting us in what we could do for other modes of travel,” said Matt Wager, director of operations for Denver’s traffic engineering services. “It was taking time away from transit, and it was limiting some of our ability to have bicycles move through the system as well.”

The most famous scramble crossing in the world is likely the Shibuya crossing in Tokyo, Japan, where hundreds of pedestrians transverse the intersection during every walk signal.

knursall@vancouversun.com

Twitter.com/kimnursall