The pedestrian walk symbols for most of the traffic signals in the downtown area are now automated at all times. Locations providing this benefit will have a sign, and pedestrians will no longer need to push a button to cross at these intersections — they will simply wait for the walk signal to come on to cross. This will eliminate the need for unnecessary touching of the buttons as part of New Westminster’s effort to limit the spread of COVID-19. Please note that the audible and tactile vibration features on these signals still work when the buttons are touched. 
 

For other locations that still require buttons to be pushed, we suggest using your elbow, a pen, or any other inanimate object. The City is also currently looking at automating pedestrian buttons in other parts of the city. 

City staff will be actively monitoring this change, and unless we see significant challenges, we expect this measure to be in place until such time as the public health orders are relaxed. Thank you for your cooperation.