Another pedestrian hit in Oakland

[gg]

Originally Posted by fleetiebelle

When people are going to and from work in the dark, it makes a huge difference. Plenty of pedestrians are wearing dark clothes/coats and don't have any sort of reflective or visible gear when they're walking, and a driver could easily not see them in the dark in the face of oncoming headlights, wet roads, etc.

Yeah and what is your point? I see no point other than people driving 3000+ pound vehicles need to adjust to conditions. They need to slow down if the conditions are bad visibility and/or raining or whatever. What vehicle drives need to understand is, these are not highways. They are densely populated areas with a lot of pedestrians. Slow down so you can control your vehicle and stop if you need to. A small child can dart out in front of a car at anytime in these areas. Are you ready for that? You should be if you are driving for conditions. It is the law you know. It isn't up to pedestrians to take all these precautions you speak of. I hope this hit and run idiot gets nailed. I am really getting tired of these sick people leaving some person hit for dead. A 60 year old women you just hit and you just say, f it and drive away? Nice. There is no defense for that if you ask me. Sick people and there sure seems to be TONS of them!

[Hopes]

The point is that drivers AND pedestrians need to be more careful when it is dark. Drivers should drive slower. Pedestrians shouldn't wear black. It's sometimes to see pedestrians dressed in black until you are 5 feet away from them. Even going the speed limit, you won't have time to stop by the time you see them. It's just downright silly for you to say that pedestrians shouldn't take precautions. It's Common Sense 101 to not wear dark clothing when walking at night.

[Q-tip motha]

Originally Posted by sealie

It was the cover story on the last City Paper I saw. Maybe it's not just him.

Its been happening for years.


Bike Pittsburgh map

Someone else posted a vehicular fatality map not too long ago. Can't find it online, but this isn't exactly a recent phenomenon...if its even a phenomenon at all.

[jimmyev]

You don't need radar to enforce the speed limit. You can engineer a road to slow people down. If the speed limit is as low as 25mph, which is common on many Pittsburgh roads, speed humps, brick pavement, lots of stop signs, less lanes, narrower lanes - those are things that can be used to keep traffic at 25 mph or less. Paving over the brick streets just creates a smooth surface that allows people to go faster, which you can witness on Smallman St. Even potholes slow people down. I was just reading a post from someone about how dirt roads in Allegheny National Forest ruined his suspension. Really? It was the roads and not his speed?

[gg]

Originally Posted by jimmyev

You don't need radar to enforce the speed limit. You can engineer a road to slow people down. If the speed limit is as low as 25mph, which is common on many Pittsburgh roads, speed humps, brick pavement, lots of stop signs, less lanes, narrower lanes - those are things that can be used to keep traffic at 25 mph or less. Paving over the brick streets just creates a smooth surface that allows people to go faster, which you can witness on Smallman St. Even potholes slow people down. I was just reading a post from someone about how dirt roads in Allegheny National Forest ruined his suspension. Really? It was the roads and not his speed?

Speed bumps are not an option anywhere. They are foolish. How do you expect an ambulance to get to someone in need or transport someone to a hospital for example. A police vehicle rushing to situation as another example.

I think more stop signs can help. Less lanes can also help. Personally, I think the police and the city need to make speeding a priority.

[jimmyev]

Originally Posted by h_curtis

Speed bumps are not an option anywhere. They are foolish. How do you expect an ambulance to get to someone in need or transport someone to a hospital for example. A police vehicle rushing to situation as another example.

I think more stop signs can help. Less lanes can also help. Personally, I think the police and the city need to make speeding a priority.

They use speed humps extensively in other cities (humps, not bumps) and they don't seem to be a hindrance to ambulances or police.

[Craziaskowboi]

Originally Posted by HeavenWood

I thought PA cops didn't want radar because they were afraid of getting cancer from it (I don't know how valid a concern that is--probably not very).

Whatever the reason, I'm actually glad that Pennsylvania doesn't let its cities run radar. Allowing them to do so would give every single irrelevant ****hole town in the Commonwealth an opportunity to use speeding tickets as revenue generators, especially if they've won the Interstate/U.S. highway lottery. It's the same reason why local police in Georgia are not allowed to cite anybody for speeding less than 15 miles per hour over the limit. (Only the Georgia State Patrol can do so.)

[gg]

Originally Posted by jimmyev

They use speed humps extensively in other cities (humps, not bumps) and they don't seem to be a hindrance to ambulances or police.

Whatever they use, it penalizes people driving low to the ground cars and not SUV/Pickups that are the ones that need to slow down the most since they don't stop or maneuver well.

Just start enforcing speed limits and do it in a big way.

[ctoocheck]

Here's a good and related TED video about street design/biking/peds (mostly biking, but still applicable)

The focus on re-establishing more liveable cities continues unabated. The primary problem however is that 85 years of traffic engineering revolving around the car has failed miserably. It's time for modern thinking. Design can help. Historically, streets were human spaces. Let's design our cities like we design toasters or smartphones, following the desire lines of our citizens. Using basic design principles instead of engineering is the surest route to developing thriving, human cities.

Mikael Colville-Andersen is an urban mobility expert and CEO for Copenhagenize Consulting. He is often called Denmark's Bicycle Ambassador but he has learned the hard way that this title is a dismal pick-up line in bars. Colville-Andersen and his team advise cities and towns around the world regarding bicycle planning, infrastructure and communication strategies. He applies his marketing expertise to campaigns that focus on selling bicycle culture and bicycle transport to a mainstream audience as opposed to the existing cycling sub-cultures in particular with his famous Cycle Chic brand. Colville-Andersen gives talks around the world about bicycle culture, design and social media.