Why York Region is changing the audible signal used at crosswalks
CBC
A major project is underway in York Region to change the accessible crossing sound at almost 400 intersections from bird chirping to a Canadian melody.
Each intersection has four Accessible Pedestrian Signal (APS) boxes, and each of those need to be programmed individually. But Nelson Costa, manager of corridors and safety with York Region, says the plan is to get it all done in time for the summer.
The region is combining the change with its usual maintenance inspections, which Costa says both reduces the cost and speeds up the process.
Local resident Jeffrey Rainey, who is blind, says he welcomes the change.
He says the new sound is louder and unmistakable for animal noise or brand jingles, making it easier to identify when it's safe to cross the street.
CBC Toronto met with Rainey and Costa at two intersections in York Region, right as the change in tune was underway.
The change is part of the region's Vision Zero 2024-2028 traffic safety plan, which York council approved on March 21.
Saskatoon resident Delynne Bortis knew her commute to work Tuesday morning would be particularly difficult.
WARNING: This story contains details of abuse and intimate partner violence:
The amount of money it takes for people to earn a living wage has increased across the province, according to a new report from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA).
The new owner of Ontario steelmaker Stelco says his company "will not disappoint the people of Hamilton and Nanticoke," where the business's major facilities are based.
A Winnipegger is warning others about an intricate scam she says she almost fell for.
Fort William First Nation is opposing a planned redevelopment of the Ontario Power Generation's (OPG) 117 year old Kakabeka Falls Generating Station, which is located in their traditional territory.
A building that sits at the corner of Sussex Street and Brunswick Avenue has had many lives over the last century — being a church, a school and offices. Now it's set to become housing, at a time when the city sorely needs it.
A Waterloo, Ont., elementary school principal will be sentenced in the new year after pleading guilty to child sexual exploitation charges following a joint investigation that involved the London, Toronto and Waterloo police services.
Students at UPEI have let their student union know what they want from the province this fiscal year, and those priorities are reflected in a 2024-2025 advocacy document brought to the legislature on Wednesday.
Larger communities in the N.W.T. will soon see a boost in their territorial funding to maintain infrastructure and deliver services — like water and waste management — but the increase still falls short of what communities need.
The toxic drug crisis has taken more than 47,000 lives in Canada since 2016 and the synthetic opioid fentanyl has become a household name. But now, what's believed to be an even more potent class of synthetic drugs is showing up in drug busts across the country: nitazenes.