The Dundas Scramble

scramble.jpg

This is only within Slaw’s remit by the merest toenail — that of traffic laws. But because it’s (still) Friday, I thought the ROC might enjoy watching Torontonians experience their very first “pedestrian scramble” at Dundas and Yonge St. Click on the image to see a time lapse video by Sam Javanrouh of how the controlled chaos is working.

Calgary, of course, had a scramble first. And I seem to recall from a childhood visit that Medicine Hat had what was then called kitty-corner or katy-corner crossings way back…then.

[via Spacing Toronto]

Comments

  1. There was one of these here in downtown London decades ago beside what was then known as the Wellington Square Mall. For a bit of trivia – Wellington Square opened in 1960 as the first enclosed mall in Canada, and the first enclosed downtown mall in North America.

  2. David, your comment and my hazy recollection forced me to do some research — well, use Wikipedia, I mean. Where I found that scrambles were first used in the late 1940s in Vancouver, of all places. Oh, and Kansas City. I learn from a good piece in Torontoist that my fair city had a very brief fling with what is also called a Barnes Dance (after its promoter) at Bay and Richmond in 1954. From the Star at that time:

    The all-way pedestrian signals went into operation on June 21, 1954. With Police Constable Al Kearns on the corner, barking directions to confused pedestrians through a loudspeaker—and adding humourous comments when the new traffic signals were misinterpreted—The Star described the first day as having a “carnival-like atmosphere.”