Aviva Insurance, a British firm, has removed the bright yellow flags it had placed at busy intersections across Toronto after the City said the road safety campaign was unsanctioned and unproven. There were complaints from citizens, some of which can be seen on Leaside Community FB, that the flags were confrontational. Take back the roads from whom, was the question asked. The company had installed the flags to allow pedestrians to be more visible to drivers while crossing the street and had planned to reveal the plan Thursday, but had not cleared the initiative with the City. Toronto PR man Brad Ross said the municipality supported efforts to help road safety in Toronto but permission was not sought before affixing flags to City-owned poles at crosswalk intersections.
SENSORS IN FLAGS?
A bucket holding the flags at the crosswalk had read “each one of these tech-enabled flags automatically tells City Council how this road could be safer.” But Aviva would not reveal ahead of the Thursday launch whether the flags contained sensors or data trackers. On Facebook one member said he found the flags unsuitable. “The slogan Take Back Our Roads is an antagonistic way to address the driver/pedestrian divide. It simply reinforces an us vs. them mentality placing pedestrians as the default victim and drivers as the default perpetrators.”
