Pedestrians stroll through scramble crossing

Pedestrians were shaving precious seconds off their crossing time at Toronto's first scramble intersection Thursday.

The busy juncture at Yonge and Dundas Streets now gives priority to pedestrians, allowing them to crisscross in any direction, even diagonally, once traffic lights turn red for cars.

Traffic flows normally for two cycles, before stopping in all directions. Walkers have 31 seconds to cross any which they please.

"It's awesome," one pedestrian told CTV Toronto.

"I'm gonna do this the rest of the day in fact," another said.

As city councilor Kyle Rae ambled through the intersection, he told CTV Toronto that "it's a refocusing of priorities to pedestrians."

It's a move to improve pedestrian safety, he said.