Summary#

Calgary City Council carried Councillor Kelly’s notice of motion, as amended, on September 22, 2026. It directs City staff to install Leading Pedestrian Intervals (LPIs)—a 3–7 second head start for pedestrians before vehicles get a green signal—at every appropriate signalized pedestrian crossing within two years. The stated goal is to improve pedestrian safety.

• Staff must prioritize crossings based on safety risk and pedestrian need, including high-collision intersections, school zones, transit-adjacent intersections, places with high pedestrian volumes, and locations where accessibility needs have been identified.
• By Q4 of Year 1, staff must report to Council through the Infrastructure and Planning Committee on progress, completed intersections by ward, planned upgrades and timing, and any schedule changes.
• That report must also include available before-and-after collision and safety data, opportunities to coordinate with other signal-timing upgrades, operational impacts or complementary safety measures, actual and projected costs, and effects on traffic flow and transit schedules.

What it means for you#

• Pedestrians: At crossings staff consider appropriate, the signal would give pedestrians a short head start before vehicle traffic proceeds. The decision does not say that every signalized crossing will receive an LPI.
• Drivers and transit users: Signal timing may change at selected intersections. Staff must report on effects on traffic flow and transit schedules, but the decision does not set out what those effects will be.
• Calgarians: This directs City staff to carry out the rollout and report back; it does not create a new application process or change fines or traffic laws.

Money#

The decision requires a cost report, but the available material gives no total cost estimate.

• The notice states that City staff had indicated costs would be minimal or managed within existing budgets because the work involves reprogramming lights and should not require infrastructure upgrades. The decision requires staff to report actual and projected costs.
• The report must also identify opportunities to combine LPI work with other signal-timing upgrades.

What is unclear#

• The decision does not define which crossings count as “appropriate,” or how staff will rank locations within the listed priorities.
• It does not state the calendar start date for the two-year period or what “Q4 of Year 1” means.
• The available material does not give the costs, the number of crossings planned, or the likely effects on traffic and transit schedules.
• The decision does not say whether the 53 intersections where the notice says Calgary already has LPIs count toward the rollout.

Case for#

• The Alberta Motor Association supports the rollout. It points to a Canadian study of more than 616,000 conflicts among over seven million observed crossings, which found LPIs associated with fewer conflicts involving turning vehicles.
• The notice says Calgary already has LPIs at 53 intersections and describes intersections as high-risk locations for pedestrian-vehicle conflicts. Building on existing installations and prioritizing higher-risk locations may be a practical way to expand the measure.
• The report-back requirement would give Council information about progress, safety data, costs, and traffic and transit effects.

Case against#

• The decision does not define “appropriate” crossings or set a detailed selection method. That leaves important choices about where the citywide rollout happens to City staff.
• The notice describes the measure as low-cost, but the decision requires actual and projected cost information, and no figures are provided in the available material.
• LPIs may affect traffic flow and transit schedules. The decision requires staff to report on those effects but does not set limits or explain how conflicts would be handled.
• Councillor McLean voted against the final motion. The supplied material does not state the reason.