VANCOUVER - Pedestrian deaths in Vancouver's streets this year are at their lowest point since the city began tracking them in 1934, according to new police data.

So far only one pedestrian has been killed compared to seven last year, Insp. Les Yeo told the Vancouver Police Board this week. Five people have been killed in traffic accidents this year, that's down from 14 at the same time last year, Yeo said.

Yeo attributed the decline to public education and enforcement campaigns against distracted driving that targeted Vancouver's highest-risk intersections using crash data from the Insurance Corp. of British Columbia.

"Pedestrian safety has been a big priority for City Council this term, with the implementation of our first-ever Pedestrian Safety Action Plan two years ago and the goal of zero pedestrian fatalities established by Council in the Transportation 2040 Plan," Mayor Gregor Roberston, who also chairs the Vancouver Police Board, said in a news release.

While pedestrians are only involved in about two per cent of all collisions, they comprise over 60 per cent of the deaths, the City of Vancouver's director of transportation Jerry Dobrovolny told the board.

In about three quarters of the pedestrian collisions the pedestrian has the right of way, Dobrovolny said.

About 12 per cent of people in Vancouver walk to work, one of the highest shares among several Canadian and international cities, according to a 2012 city staff report. The 2012 report also found nearly half of all pedestrian fatalities in Vancouver take place in January and February.

In November, December and January typically see at least roughly 250 pedestrian collisions a month, according to city data for 2009-2013.

In his presentation to the board, Yeo singled out the north end of the Knight Street Bridge, Main Street and Terminal Avenue as well as Pacific Boulevard and Burrard Street as areas that were particularly dangerous for motorists and pedestrians.

Officers recently ticketed someone speeding 160 km/h over the Granville Street Bridge, Yeo told the board.

VPD spokesman Const. Brian Montague added that the areas with the most fatalities and injuries usually have "huge congestion of traffic mixed with public transit stops" or are "on and off ramps to bridges."

mhager@postmedia.com

Making streets safer by the numbers

1) 1

Pedestrian killed

On Sat. March 8, a woman was walking in the crosswalk at West Hastings and Richards streets when she was hit and hilled by a semi-truck turned left. She was the first and only pedestrian fatality this year. In 1994, 23 pedestrians were killed. In 2005, 20 pedestrians were killed and following years saw double-digit fatalities, according to VPD data.

However, since 2010 these deaths have been in the single digits and the VPD says it is close to its ultimate goal of no pedestrian deaths at all.

2)10 per cent

Increase in tickets

So far this year, the VPD has written 10 per cent more tickets for both distracted driving and speeding compared to the total from the same time last year. Together with the provincial government and ICBC, the VPD's regular public safety campaigns have helped get the message across to motorists that talking or texting on the phone while driving can be extremely dangerous.