REGINA, Sask. — A recent string of vehicle collisions involving pedestrians, cyclists and e-bike riders has left people injured and one person dead, prompting Bike Regina to call for changes to how the city designs and funds its transportation network.
Regina police reported 10 collisions involving vulnerable road users over a 10-day period earlier this week, describing the number as unusual and urging everyone using the roads to take extra care. Another collision involving a pedestrian was reported Thursday morning, as well as two more on Wednesday, bringing the total number of vehicle collisions involving pedestrians/cyclists to 13 in the past 13 days.
For Bike Regina transportation planning engineer and advocacy lead Ellen McLaughlin, the recent crashes do not appear to have one obvious cause.
“On the what is going on front it is unusual. Normally we don't see this many collisions,” McLaughlin said. She added that the incidents did not appear to be connected to back-to-school traffic or an unusual weather pattern.
“But it does maybe reflect just an underlying issue in our transportation network,” she said.
McLaughlin said Regina’s transportation system has historically been designed around vehicle use, leaving people walking, cycling or using other forms of transportation with routes that can be less direct and fewer physical protections.
That concern is particularly important at intersections, where different types of road users are forced to share the same space. McLaughlin said Bike Regina’s understanding of local collision data shows about 80 per cent of Regina’s collisions happen at intersections.
“Having bike lanes that go through intersections instead of ending right before intersections is huge for cyclist safety,” McLaughlin said.
She said cyclists can be left trying to merge back into traffic when a protected route suddenly ends, creating another point of conflict between vehicles and vulnerable road users.
McLaughlin also pointed to pedestrian signal timing as a relatively simple change that can improve safety. Regina recently introduced a leading pedestrian interval at Elphinstone Street and 13th Avenue, giving pedestrians a three- to five-second head start before vehicles move through the intersection.
McLaughlin said the extra time can make pedestrians more visible to drivers without requiring major changes to the road itself.
She also wants the city to put more funding behind the safety priorities already identified in its Transportation Master Plan and Vision Zero framework.
Bike Regina participates in the city’s budget process and transportation discussions, advocating for investments in cycling infrastructure, pedestrian connections, sidewalks and other improvements.
McLaughlin said those plans need to be matched with funding if Regina wants to achieve the safety improvements they outline.
“But it would be nice if those city budgets actually reflect the stated priorities of the city in these guiding documents to actually invest in cycling infrastructure to meet those goals in the Transportation Master Plan and Vision Zero Plans,” McLaughlin said.
Bike Regina’s approach goes beyond asking drivers, pedestrians and cyclists to simply be more careful. McLaughlin said the organization supports a “safe systems” approach that considers road design, vehicle speeds, vehicles, road users, land use and post-crash care together.
She said responsibility for preventing serious collisions should not automatically fall on the people involved in them.
“It's when a collision occurs, it's not solely the fault of the people involved. The road could maybe be designed better,” McLaughlin said.
Bike Regina’s analysis of SGI data found 12 road deaths in Regina between 2022 and 2024, with 10 involving pedestrians or cyclists.
McLaughlin said those numbers reinforce the need to prioritize infrastructure that protects people outside vehicles.
“Bike lanes save lives,” she said.
For Bike Regina, the recent collisions are another reason to look beyond individual crashes and examine whether Regina’s streets are designed to prevent serious injuries before they happen.
McLaughlin said walking and cycling should be central to that work.
“Walking and biking would maybe be my number one priority when trying to target these elimination of road deaths and serious injuries,” she said.
