Careful of trapping crosswalks.

[BruceWright]

Today I was riding in front of NBC Studios in Burbank. NBC is at the corner of Olive and Alameda. They are two streets that intersect at an oblique angle, and a third street intersects it as well.

This intersection is confusing, trapezoid-shaped and only partially served by crosswalks.

I started out on the green WALK signal, to find that I was trapped at the median island. A median barely wide enough for a person. A median with no curb-cuts.

If I was in a wheelchair, I'd be in serious danger.

30 seconds or so later, I got the second walk signal to take me across the rest of the street.

I cannot imagine WHO thought it was safe to have pedestrians cross HALF of a street, then the second half. But there it was.

I was in the street, I stepped off the Segway. Cars were wizzing by, folks were trying to talk to me about the Segway, WHILE I WAS IN THE STREET!!!

Focus on safety first. Block all other distractions out. Make it out of the street.
Be very careful out there, folks. Practice, practice, practice, so that you know what to do, CALMLY, in such a poorly-planned situation.

-Bruce Wright

Segway: Vehicle of Dream

[Peter iNova]

After tooling around Burbank, I can see that Segway owners are going to become a great help to people in wheelchairs in a round-about way, since the set of concerns overlap so much.

Cars have replaced so much transportation that sidewalks are somewhat under utilized, and with the ADA specifications for sidewalks, street crossings, ramp access and so on, wheelchair access is much improved, but by no means perfected.

It's rare to have people IN city government who can detect the problem areas directly, but with city councils moving about their own cities on Segways, they will be able to spot --and note-- the problems like the ones mentioned above.

Wheels and I found a similar connundrum at that intersection the other night. One of those small islands had a ramp up one side, but no way to exit it on the other side to proceed across the street. Egad. It's as if that detail were dreamed up by a ... a... government!

Seriously, every city council should own at least one, and fight over who gets to use it THIS week.

-iNova
http://www.glidewalk.com

[bicycledriver]

quote:Originally posted by BruceWright


I started out on the green WALK signal, to find that I was trapped at the median island. A median barely wide enough for a person. A median with no curb-cuts.


Bruce,

Two questions:

1. Where were you when the flashing "Don't Walk" or raised hand signal began, and how long did it last?

2. Was there a pedestrian pushbutton and/or signal in the median?

The Manual on Uniform Traffic Controls and Devices requires that the "Don't Walk" / raised hand signal last long enough to complete walking across the intersection, at least to the middle of the last travel lane, at a speed of 4 feet per second - UNLESS there is an adequate median refuge island equipped with its own set of signals and pedestrian detectors, in which case the pedestrian is given clearance to the median. MUTCD is the standard that all traffic engineers are supposed to follow.

If this standard was violated, let the city know, and I'd be interested in knowing too.

For more information, I have written the following articles:

"MUTCD and Consideration of Pedestrians at Traffic Signals"
http://www.humantransport.org/universalaccess/library/mutcdsignals.html

"Improving High-Volume Intersections for Pedestrians"
http://www.humantransport.org/universalaccess/library/wide/wide.htm

"Improving High-Volume Intersections for Cyclists"
http://www.humantransport.org/universalaccess/library/wide/bikeintersection.htm

-Steve Goodridge
http://www.humantransport.org webmaster

[John F]

quote:Originally posted by BruceWright


If I was in a wheelchair, I'd be in serious danger.

30 seconds or so later, I got the second walk signal to take me across the rest of the street.

I cannot imagine WHO thought it was safe to have pedestrians cross HALF of a street, then the second half. But there it was.


Sounds like crosswalks in Florida, Bruce. But I don't mean a two-part crossing -- I mean being stuck in the median because the WALK/DON'T WALK sign changes so damn fast that people don't have the time to get across the street.

There are elderly that regularly get stuck like that around here... It's insane, and the Department of Transportation does not like the concept of the Pedestrian Overpass. INSANE!

Mail it in or post it up -- Segway-open mailing list on Yahoo Groups (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/segway-open/)

[BruceWright]

Sounds horrible, John F.

The MTA person who spoke at a city department meeting cited a horrifying statistic. Something like only 5 percent of seniors can walk fast enough to cross the street in the timed crosswalk.



The crossing was a two-parter, in my case. Without adequate space on the median, nor another pedestrian cross button. Being on a Segway, I didn't run out of time, it was that I was supposed to wait for the other half. I can imagine folks mostly just keep walking until they see the cars barreling for them, thinking they had the right of way to cross the whole street at once (what a concept!).

-Bruce Wright

Segway: Vehicle of Dream

[bicycledriver]

quote:Originally posted by BruceWright
The crossing was a two-parter, in my case. Without adequate space on the median, nor another pedestrian cross button. Being on a Segway, I didn't run out of time, it was that I was supposed to wait for the other half. I can imagine folks mostly just keep walking until they see the cars barreling for them, thinking they had the right of way to cross the whole street at once (what a concept!).


I'm trying to understand why you decided that you were supposed to wait for another signal phase. If you leave the curb during the "walk" phase, the flashing "don't walk" or flashing raised hand will sometimes (here in NC it's nearly always) begin before you finish crossing. However, the flashing "don't walk" is supposed to continue long enough for you to finish crossing to the location of the pedestrian signal, usually the other side of the intersection unless the signal is in the median.

Was the pedestrian signal in the median? Or was there some other reason you concluded that the clearance interval would not allow you to finish crossing the entire intersection safely and legally?

Studies have shown that most people find pedestrian signals confusing, and about 1/2 of the population does not understand the meaning of the flashing phase. There are also some very lousy installations out there. I'm trying to understand the specifics of your situation so I can help.

[I should add that on some wide intersections in my city, the flashing "don't walk" clearance phase lasts for about 30 seconds since it takes so long to walk across. The "walk" phase that tells pedestrians when it is safe to *start* crossing is just a few seconds long, barely enough to make it half way to the median, which is not a location intended for pedestrians to stop at these particular configurations since there are no ped signals or buttons in them. I think ped signals are counter-intuitive and generally lousy from a user-interface standpoint.]

-Steve Goodridge
http://humantransport.org/universalaccess/

[BruceWright]

It wasn't a time thing, or a flashing don't walk.

It was a crossing where I had a solid walk to the median, and a solid DONT WALK (you will die, there are cars) after the median. Eventually the second half became a WALK as well.

-Bruce Wright

Segway: Vehicle of Dream

[bicycledriver]

quote:Originally posted by BruceWright

It wasn't a time thing, or a flashing don't walk.

It was a crossing where I had a solid walk to the median, and a solid DONT WALK (you will die, there are cars) after the median. Eventually the second half became a WALK as well.


Wow - there was no flashing don't walk phase?!! I've never seen that before. That violates MUTCD and CA state law. If I were you I would report the signal to the city traffic engineer and local public works, and if that goes nowhere report it to the city council and the local police. The city can be held legally liable for defective traffic control devices.

-Steve Goodridge

http://www.humantransport.org/universalaccess/library/wide/signdesign.jpg

From http://www.dmv.ca.gov/pubs/hdbk/pgs17thru18.htm :

quote:Many street crossings have pedestrian signals that show the words "WALK" and "DON'T WALK" or show a "WALKING PERSON" in white and a "RAISED HAND" in orange. Pedestrian signals direct pedestrians while crossing the street. The "WALK" or "WALKING PERSON" appears when it is legal to start crossing.
When the "DON'T WALK" or "RAISED HAND" appears, you may not start across the street. The flashing signal means you should not begin to cross because you may not have enough time to make it to the other side before vehicles start moving across your path. If the flashing starts after you have already started to cross, you may finish crossing the street.

[BruceWright]

Hmm... let me try and explain it again.

The half after the median NEVER said WALK, and it never flashed "Don't Walk". It was always a solid "Don't Walk"

Here's the order of events.

First, I was waiting to go north, across the street.

Next, the MEDIAN said WALK, and the far side of the street said "Solid Don't Walk". I didn't see the far side, as I was looking at the median, which read "Walk."

Then I glided to the median, and almost proceded across when I noticed cars coming to kill me. I backed up to the median and double-checked the crossing signal. Sure enough, the one across the street said SOLID DON'T WALK, while the signal behind me still said "Walk". The signal on the median said "Walk" in the direction I had been, and I assume "Don't Walk" if I looked at it from my intended destination.

So I waited there, with a green WALK behind me, but a SOLID RED DON'T WALK in front of me.

I waited on the median, and in about 30 seconds, the signal in front of me changed to a green WALK, and I could proceed the rest of the way across the street.

My fear and confusion was because I thought I had the right of way to cross the street, but I only had the right of way to cross HALF the street.

-Bruce Wright

Segway: Vehicle of Dream

[bicycledriver]

Bruce,
Thanks for being patient with me; I understand now. This was a two-part pedestrian crossing with a median equipped with its own pedestrian signal, as allowed by MUTCD. The signal must have been designed for automatic timing, so no button was provided.

The problem was essentially that the median is too narrow to store a wheelchair or even a pedestrian comfortably, and with no curb cuts for wheelchairs. I would certainly ask the city about how to file a request for a wheelchair ramp and median improvement. Most cities, including my own, have a policy of scheduling spot improvements upon request to comply with ADA; you should be able to request ADA compliance (on behalf of anyone) without needing to demonstrate that you are actually disabled.

-Steve

[BruceWright]

Thanks for the info.

Now that I know about such things, I'll be more aware out there. I don't remember such a crosswalk before, but I've got their number now!

-Bruce Wright

Segway: Vehicle of Dream