Signalized pedestrian crosswalk to be installed along stretch of Dougall Avenue in Windsor

A crosswalk button is seen in Windsor, Ont., on Dec. 16, 2024. (Sanjay Maru/CTV News Windsor)

A signalized pedestrian crosswalk is going to be installed along a very busy stretch of Dougall Avenue in Windsor.

Two members of Windsor City Council, Ward 9’s Kieran McKenzie and Ward 1’s Fred Francis, are working together to get the crosswalk installed along the busy four-lane arterial road that is a boundary line between their wards.

McKenzie said there is a roadway improvement project in the 2026 Capital Budget, and they’ve been able to include the pedestrian crosswalk as part of it.

“Residents have been asking for this for a very long time. It’s hard to get across the street on Dougall, across four lanes of traffic. It’s an arterial road, one of the busiest roads in the city; there needs to be a location somewhere between Norfolk and Cabana Road where people can cross safely,” he said.

The signalized pedestrian crosswalk would require anyone using it to press a button, which would trigger a light to stop traffic and allow the person to walk across the road.

It will be installed at Dougall Avenue and Beals Street, an area near the middle of a 1.5-kilometre stretch of Dougall where there are no traffic lights. The closest traffic lights are at Cabana Road West and Norfolk Street.

McKenzie said they know there are places that people want to go in the neighbourhood, including one of the best parks in the city.

“Central Park has a pool, a splash pad, tennis courts, and you name it, baseball diamonds. It is a great destination. Folks who live on the east side of Dougall that want to go to that park, or if they want to let their kids go to that park, really have a sense of trepidation, and I think this traffic light at this intersection will really improve the access,” he said.

Francis said they’ve been trying to get something to improve pedestrian safety there for years now because if you try to cross that stretch right now, you do so at your own risk.

“That’s how busy the street is, and that’s how fast the traffic moves. Being able to have a halfway point where students, families, people on bikes, people on rollerblades, people jogging, or whatever can hit a button and safely stop traffic so they can cross, I think, is a good measure. Certainly, a good addition in the neighbourhood,” he said.

Francis and McKenzie are each contributing $15,000 in ward funds for traffic calming measures to help pay for the crossing as part of the infrastructure project that will see some curb work and the addition of a centre turning lane installed in that same area.

It’s expected it will be late 2026 before the pedestrian crosswalk is installed.