Pedestrian Safety

Everybody should be able to walk around their community safely without being injured or killed by vehicles. Unfortunately, this isn't always the case. About 20% of all people killed on NSW roads each year are pedestrians.

Stop, Look and Listen

Use pedestrian crossings or traffic lights if available 

• At traffic lights, cross only when the pedestrian signal is green 
• If you are unable to make the whole distance, use a pedestrian refuge if available and wait for the next green pedestrian signal 
• When the flashing red 'Don't Walk' signal is displayed, you may complete your crossing, but do not start crossing

Before leaving the kerb, think about whether an approaching driver can see you 

• Never assume that an approaching driver will stop for you - their vision may be affected by the sun, poor light and parked cars 
• At intersections, check for turning vehicles before you leave the kerb 
• Avoid crossing between parked cars or in front of buses 
• At dusk or night, and in poor visibility conditions, cross the road in well-lit areas and wear light coloured clothing or carry something reflective.

Be responsible

• Don't be distracted by things like phones or music players when crossing the road 
• Children up to eight years old should hold an adult's hand on the footpath, in the car park or when crossing the road 
• Children up to ten years old should be actively supervised in the traffic environment and should hold an adult's hand when crossing the road.

Campaigns

Council implements various pedestrian safety programs throughout the City of Ryde. Programs include: 

• 2013 - senior pedestrian campaigns in English, Mandarin and Korean, with a focus on West Ryde and Eastwood town centres
• 2012 - partnered with the RMS and six other Northern Sydney Councils to implement an education campaign in Macquarie Park 
• 2011 - implemented a tri-lingual (Korean, Mandarin and English) campaign in West Ryde in addition to implementing new pedestrian fencing, a reduction in the speed limit and look stencils
• 2010 - engineering works and education campaign to improve safety around Eastwood Shopping Centre
• 2009 - partnered with Ku-ring-gai, North Sydney and Willoughby Councils on a pedestrian safety project to promote safe crossing practices through education and engineering within and around Macquarie Shopping Centre
• 2004-2008 - 18 people were killed or injured within 500 metres of Eastwood Plaza. Council ran a tri-lingual awareness campaign in English, Chinese and Korean promoting safe road crossing practices, including 'look' stencils to encourage pedestrians to look for cars before they cross the road.