Toronto police are crediting digital countdown timers at intersections for the significant reduction in pedestrian deaths this year.
By the end of September, police had recorded 14 pedestrian deaths on the city's roads.
Toronto hit a 10-year high in 2002 when 50 pedestrians were killed crossing the street.
All intersections are being upgraded with the timers, which count down the seconds to when the light turns amber.
The devices not only let pedestrians know how much time they have to safely cross the street, they also help out drivers.
"The motorists are timing themselves, they're not rushing to get across at the red light," Traffic Services Sgt. Jeff Zammit told CTV News.
"And I know on a bicycle myself, I can actually judge whether I should take a run to go through or whether I should slow down to make sure I go across safely."
Road safety groups are also praising the effectiveness of the signals, saying they have, among other things, given seniors more confidence to cross the street.
The city is responding to the positive feedback by stepping up its timeline for replacing the old signals. The digital timers are now expected to be in all of Toronto's 2,000 intersections by 2009.
