Steinbach city council has approved the installation of a crosswalk where the Deerfield pathway connects to Hespeler Street. City councillor Susan Penner made the motion, pointing out it's a matter of safety. She says, "This past week, as I've been driving on Hespeler, I personally have seen two near misses involving pedestrians and vehicles, and it is a concern. The traffic is busy, I think they(motorists) are distracted by the stop sign at Ashford Lane, they assume pedestrians are going to cross at the stop sign. That intersection where the pathway comes onto Hespeler is not visible enough. We need to somehow mark that and I think a pedestrian crosswalk would be appropriate."

Penner says she'd like to see a crosswalk like the one on Loewen Boulevard at Maplewood Street which cost about $6,000.00. Council was advised there's no money in this year's budget for such a crosswalk, but Penner asked that the cash be found somewhere. She notes, "When it comes to preventing a potential casualty or fatality, that's a small cost."

City council gave its unanimous approval. It's expected the crosswalk will be installed in about 4 to 6 weeks.

Deputy Mayor Jac Siemens believes something also needs to be done to alert pedestrians and cyclists to slow down and stop as they approach Hespeler. He explains, "We have tested some barricades last year that forced bike traffic to slow down and weave round some obstacles before they intersect with the 60 kilometre per hour traffic on Hespeler. I think there are things that we can do that are very low cost."