Madeline Crilley can often be seen walking slowly but steadily between the Community Centre and the Worker's Memorial near the ball fields. Supported by a walking pole, 82-year-old Crilley walks for about an hour a day as a way of maintaining good health, both mentally and physically.
But sometimes she is afraid when she crosses Mackenzie Avenue on her way from her home at Nim's Manor, an apartment complex at 800 Mackenzie, and the gradual path that leads from Seventh Street to the Seniors' Centre and Community Centre. She would like to see a crosswalk at the Seventh Street crossing. She wrote a letter to the city's engineering department requesting the crosswalk and expressing her concerns.
"It's a matter of safety," Crilley said. Since Mackenzie Avenue was repaved last year, it may feel like a thoroughfare to drivers. "The parents heading to and from the schools are fast, the mill workers at shift change are fast, and so are the people going to the arena." And the bikes are fast too, she added.
"Sometimes when I go to cross at Seventh Street, I see people whizzing around the corner at Eighth Street onto Mackenzie. If I'm getting ready to cross and there's parked vehicles limiting visibility…" She paused, indicating what could easily happen.
As Crilley pointed out, both Nim's Manor and Selkirk Gardens (a condo building for seniors) have walking routes that lead to that Seventh-Street crossing. Many seniors who live in those buildings use the path at the end of Seventh Street to the Seniors' and Community Centres. Interestingly, while the 2021 Age-Friendly plan identifies Seventh Street between Vernon Avenue and Mackenzie as a senior-friendly route (see pp. 51-2), it does not extend the route to the path to the Community Centre.
Steve Black, director of engineering and public works for the City of Revelstoke, said that a crosswalk will come, likely by spring, as part of larger traffic-calming efforts. Mackenzie Avenue is a wide street and that leads to drivers thinking they can speed up, he said. Traffic-calming measures include installing curb extensions similar to those on Fourth Street East. This creates the perception of a narrower street and slows down traffic. These are costly but effective ways to slow traffic.
For Crilley and for many seniors, safe walking is key to good health. "I walk because it takes me out. I smile at everybody, people smile back, and it keeps my legs active. They say I should have a walker and a scooter but that does nothing to keep my legs active. I always was a hiker and a cross-country skier. I used to skate-ski. So every day I was out," she said.
Crilley enjoys taking "the garden route" from her home to Save-On and the Family Pharmacy. "There's a beautiful flower garden across from the Community Centre. There's just gardens all the way. One of the houses has roses, nasturtiums and sweet peas. I always stop and smell them. The other day the owner came out and cut me a bouquet," she said with a smile.
One of Crilley's big safety concerns are bikes. "They are on me in no time. I try and watch my timing. I try to miss the parent traffic for schools," she said. Sure enough, as a perfect example of what Crilley is concerned about, as I walked home after interviewing her and turned onto the sloped path at the end of Seventh Street, a man on an e-bike racing up the path almost hit me. There are two blind corners on that path. If a brittle-boned senior – or a child – was hit by a bike, it could be disastrous. Clearly, safety on this walking route involves more than a crosswalk.
The Revelstoke CRN is a committee of service providers, including the City of Revelstoke, Interior Health, and several nonprofits that work together to prevent adult abuse and support vulnerable adults. For more information or to subscribe to the newsletter e-mail revycrn@gmail.com or call 250-814-8971.
