Iqaluit (Sep 22/03) - With two deaths involving motor vehicles in the past year, a group in Iqaluit is trying to raise more awareness about the need for sidewalks in the community.

Anne Crawford, a member of the group, said they are circulating a petition in the community requesting the city put in sidewalks. The petition will be presented to city council.

"We just got tired of seeing the same things -- people getting hurt by cars," she said. "People who walk are the ones who are getting hurt."

As of December of 2000, there were 1,684 registered vehicles in Iqaluit.

With more vehicles on the road every year, Crawford said it's becoming more important to ensure pedestrians are safe when they are walking along the roads.

Crawford explained that sidewalks have been a low priority on the city's list of projects and the group wants to emphasize the need for them.

"Someone has to push the city to get some sidewalks," she said.

Crawford said in order to ensure public safety, there needs to be more definition between the areas for vehicles and pedestrians. Currently vehicles drive wherever they can, she said, at the expense of the people walking.

"There has to be a physical barrier to define where the road ends and the sidewalks begin," she said.

Crawford admitted building sidewalks on every street in the city will be very expensive, but said the work doesn't have to happen all at once. It should be progressive development, she added.

"There needs to be a start," she said. "The city could have a plan to expand in the future."

Along with the petition the group will also be working on a number of projects in the community like creating small boardwalks. Crawford couldn't comment on when they would present the signatures to city council.

Brad Sokach, director of engineering for the city, said they are currently looking at options for sidewalks but there are a number of factors causing problems.

"Building sidewalks in the North has its challenges," he said.

For example, Sokach said the city's drainage would cause problems during construction.

He said the city does recognize the need to separate the traffic from the pedestrians so nobody else gets hurt.

"We have to come up with something and we are looking at our options," he said. "This is something we are committed to."

In the spring the city will be painting the roads to guide traffic.

aSokach admitted it's not the best solution, but it's a start until they can solve the engineering problems.