Friday, September 02, 2016

"How can we get the most out of pedestrian crossing signals?"


Or, to summarize:

"Why isn’t it a people-crossing with buttons for drivers to push when they want to cross the people road?"

In all such considerations, of which there are many, it tends to come back to first causes, from design to fundamental intent. I persist in thinking that just as Americans have a Bill of Rights for ready consultation as citizens, that road the street users of all sorts (not only automotive) should have the same.

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It's easy to look at an intersection where pedestrians frequently cross and think, "What we really need is a crossing signal to make this place safer. The more bright lights and signage the better!" Well, today, our resident engineer team, R. Mosesoffered surprising answers to two questions about getting better pedestrian crossing signals in neighborhoods.

Here's a teaser:

Mid-block crossings, HAWK signals, and other such add-ons are attempts to fix a bad design. The bottom line is the street/stroad was designed wrong and flashing lights are not going to fix it, nor will a plethora of pedestrian crossing signs.

3 comments:

Iamhoosier said...

I thought that you were on "vacation" from NAC? vbg

The New Albanian said...

I am. When I'm working, it's 4-5 posts a day. Sounds like we missed a good one last night. Mr. Rickard was there with L'il Stevie.

Iamhoosier said...

Hey, we just did what Dan did. We abstained.