[Vision2020] Crosswalks near Wendys & in general

[cynthia nichols]

There are very inventive methods nowadays of making crosswalks easier  
to see, especially when people are using them. In Redwood City, CA,  
there's a crosswalk that has a button for the pedestrian to push.  
There are raised lights (like the bots dots in highways) embedded in  
the roadway that blink when the button is pushed. It is very clear  
when they are blinking that someone is walking across the street.  
Seems like a small investment to save lives.

cynthia nichols
On Jun 29, 2006, at 11:04 AM, Tim Lohrmann wrote:

>    Visionseekers,
>
>   Mr. Rumelhart makes some good points.
>   The pedestrian crossings on that part of the Pullman road really  
> can be pretty scary.
>   Worrisome is right.
>   There have been new crossing signs with flags put up on the road  
> in a couple of places and that's great. But, unfortunately, this  
> doesn't seem to have helped the situation all that much.
>
>     Several on here have likely had some close calls.
>     Same here.
>     The last one happened while returning from the Pullman at dusk,  
> going the speed limit or a little under.  All of a sudden, a guy in  
> one of those charcoal gray warmup suits was right in front of me in  
> the middle of the lane. I had to brake really hard and veer over or  
> it would have been pedestrian crunch time.
>
>     The guy wasn't being careful or using a real cross walk.
>     But that wouldn't have been much consolation for either of us  
> if he'd been thrashing around under my tires--that came within  
> inches of happening.
>
>     With all the new apartment construction out that way, maybe  
> something new does need to be done. More people are crossing  
> wherever they want...without regard to marked crossings.
>     I'm not sure that more jaywalking enforcement is the answer. I  
> don't think word would get around on that.
>    Would some flashing caution lights and reflective traffic bumps  
> or just reflectors be a good way to mark the crossings? It's a  
> state highway and that makes it more complicated but it's worth  
> looking into.
>
>    The rest of the crossings on other streets in town need better  
> marking too.
>    It seems like the white paint marking the crossings wears out so  
> quickly.
>    I've been told the ice melt, gravel, sand and snow tires all do  
> a job on the paint.
>    Then after the weather clears up it takes quite a while for the  
> city to get the markings re-done.
>    That's understandable with all that needs doing but the  
> crossings aren't defined very well in the meantime.
>
>    Maybe some different approach--possibly raised marking would  
> work better.
>    I'm sure this would be more expensive in the short term.  But if  
> a different marking system saved the expense of repainting every  
> year and made the crossings safer it might make sense.
>     TL
>
>
>
>
>   "Those 'technicalities' have a name, Bobby. They're called the  
> Bill Of Rights."
>                                                                        
>                                     ----Hank Hill
>
>
>
>
> Paul Rumelhart <godshatter at yahoo.com> wrote:
> My apologies if this has been discussed here before, but I wanted to
> state my opinions on this.
>
> I worry that someday some person (probably a college student) is going
> to be seriously injured or killed at this crosswalk. It has all the
> makings of a death trap. It's on one of the few four-lane streets
> (five, really) around with a higher-than-average-in-Moscow speed  
> limit.
> I've seen so many drivers just cruise on through without even thinking
> about it being a crosswalk, and I've also seen people just pop up from
> the slight incline that leads to it's entrance on the UI side and just
> start hoofing it across the road. I'm aware of the dangers here, and
> watch it closely, and I've still been surprised to find someone in the
> crosswalk there. They either popped up like we're playing whack-a-mole
> from the UI side or they were hidden by the other cars that were just
> blithely driving through the crosswalk ahead of them or behind them.
> The signs are nice, but they are not enough.
>
> I appreciate the need for a crosswalk there, since you either have to
> jaywalk or walk a block in either direction or more to get to a valid
> crosswalk. As it stands, though, I think we'd be safer letting them
> jaywalk - at least they would be cautious of the traffic. With a legal
> crosswalk there, the old UI-taught behavior of "just walk out there,
> they'll stop" appears to kick in.
>
> Some minor suggestions that might help would include a yellow light
> suspended over the crosswalk, or maybe spotlights on both sides so we
> can see better at night, or possibly a concrete "staging platform"  
> that
> is easily visible amongst the grass so we have a better idea where to
> look ahead of time. A better idea would probably be to just put a  
> light
> there, one that turns red only if a pedestrian pushes the button.
>
> Anyone have any other ideas? Are there plans for something to happen
> there that just haven't been completed yet?
>
> Paul
>
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