Keys to designing cities with fewer traffic fatalities (cars, parking)

[toll_booth]

Originally Posted by cqholt

A New Study Finds That 10-Foot Traffic Lanes Are Safer and Still Move Plenty of Cars - CityLab
By reducing the width of travel lanes to 10', cities can add bike lanes and wider sidewalks. People drive faster when the they feel like they have more room. Adding street trees, on street parking, etc. also help in making the street feel narrower.

Yes there it is. Wide lanes, gentle curves, and shallow grades--all traditionally considered to be aspects of good road design--encourage fast and reckless driving. Smaller, tighter lanes make you focus. I actually experienced this the other day, when I was driving down one of those narrow, two-lane-plus-parallel-parking streets. I couldn't have been going any faster than 25 mph. It was a great example of how traffic calming, not sporadic enforcement, kept driver behavior in line.

[Huckleberry3911948]

Education is the key you are telling people to use the crosswalks
That is where they kill them

[ElleKaye]

Originally Posted by cqholt

A New Report Outlines Design Strategies for Reducing Traffic Fatalities - CityLab

Unincorporated Cobb County(excludes city and interstate crashes) had 7 pedestrian fatalities in 2014.

Aside from some basics like adding sidewalks, I think some of it has to do with educating the drivers.

For instance, I did not know until a few months ago that it was illegal to make a turn over a crosswalk until the pedestrians had completely crossed to the other side. It doesn't really seem it should be a real thing and I've never seen it enforced, but apparently, it is a real thing.

Another example would be the pedestrian crosswalk on Roswell Rd in Sandy Springs right before you get to Buckhead. I swear at first I couldn't even tell what it was and how I was expected to drive. Do I slow up on yellow, is there a difference between a solid light and a flashing light, or at a minimum when I can go why not just make it a solid green?

In places like Manhattan, drivers are all everly lane, but they do seem to understand that if someone steps off the sidewalk, they have to stop. Since Atlanta like many other places are so much more car-centric, then I think you have to explain the rules so everyone has a good understanding and hope that it takes. In the same way that we can adapt to bike lanes, other things can be learned as well.

As a side note, I was not aware that bike lanes had been added on West Paces Ferry and pretty much thought at first they were poorly designed parallel street parking. It doesn't take but a few minutes to reason out when something new is going on, but better communication should be a goal.

[cwkimbro]

Originally Posted by ElleKaye

For instance, I did not know until a few months ago that it was illegal to make a turn over a crosswalk until the pedestrians had completely crossed to the other side. It doesn't really seem it should be a real thing and I've never seen it enforced, but apparently, it is a real thing.

Close... but a few differences..

O.C.G.A. 40-6-91
Right of way in crosswalks


(a) The driver of a vehicle shall stop and remain stopped to allow a pedestrian to cross the roadway within a crosswalk when the pedestrian is upon the half of the roadway upon which the vehicle is traveling, or when the pedestrian is approaching and is within one lane of the half of the roadway on which the vehicle is traveling or onto which it is turning. For the purposes of this subsection, "half of the roadway" means all traffic lanes carrying traffic in one direction of travel.

[toll_booth]

Originally Posted by ElleKaye

Aside from some basics like adding sidewalks, I think some of it has to do with educating the drivers.

For instance, I did not know until a few months ago that it was illegal to make a turn over a crosswalk until the pedestrians had completely crossed to the other side. It doesn't really seem it should be a real thing and I've never seen it enforced, but apparently, it is a real thing.

Yup. One addendum to that--if the street you're turning onto is a two-way street, and the pedestrian is more than one lane away from your direction of travel, you can make the turn. I.e., if you're making a right turn onto a road with the following config:

1 | 2 || 3 | 4(X)

where lanes 1 and 2 are in your new direction of travel, and the pedestrian is currently in lane 4 (marked by the X), then you may turn. If the pedestrian is in lanes 1-3, you may not turn yet.

Another example would be the pedestrian crosswalk on Roswell Rd in Sandy Springs right before you get to Buckhead. I swear at first I couldn't even tell what it was and how I was expected to drive. Do I slow up on yellow, is there a difference between a solid light and a flashing light, or at a minimum when I can go why not just make it a solid green?

Are you talking about the HAWK signal--the one that has two red lights per one yellow light? HAWKs progress in the following order:

1. Flashing yellow (just an alert, drivers don't have to slow down)
2. Steady yellow = yellow light
3. Steady red = red light
4. Flashing red = stop sign (This is the one that causes the most trouble. Treat this as a stop sign--which is exactly what you're supposed to do at any other traffic light with a flashing red light.)
5. Lights turn off = green light

In places like Manhattan, drivers are all everly lane, but they do seem to understand that if someone steps off the sidewalk, they have to stop. Since Atlanta like many other places are so much more car-centric, then I think you have to explain the rules so everyone has a good understanding and hope that it takes. In the same way that we can adapt to bike lanes, other things can be learned as well.

As a side note, I was not aware that bike lanes had been added on West Paces Ferry and pretty much thought at first they were poorly designed parallel street parking. It doesn't take but a few minutes to reason out when something new is going on, but better communication should be a goal.

[LovelySummer]

Originally Posted by cqholt

Let's not speculate without data about which counties are worse. But you are correct in the majority of ped crashes happen in lower income areas.

I wonder why this is. What would income of the area have to do with things?

[cwkimbro]

Originally Posted by LovelySummer

I wonder why this is. What would income of the area have to do with things?

My guess is more people must spend their lives walking, even in areas that are conducive to talking.

Whereas people with means that want to walk generally will move to an area where that is possible or drive to an area where that is possible.

[cqholt]

Originally Posted by ElleKaye

Aside from some basics like adding sidewalks, I think some of it has to do with educating the drivers.

For instance, I did not know until a few months ago that it was illegal to make a turn over a crosswalk until the pedestrians had completely crossed to the other side. It doesn't really seem it should be a real thing and I've never seen it enforced, but apparently, it is a real thing.

Another example would be the pedestrian crosswalk on Roswell Rd in Sandy Springs right before you get to Buckhead. I swear at first I couldn't even tell what it was and how I was expected to drive. Do I slow up on yellow, is there a difference between a solid light and a flashing light, or at a minimum when I can go why not just make it a solid green?

In places like Manhattan, drivers are all everly lane, but they do seem to understand that if someone steps off the sidewalk, they have to stop. Since Atlanta like many other places are so much more car-centric, then I think you have to explain the rules so everyone has a good understanding and hope that it takes. In the same way that we can adapt to bike lanes, other things can be learned as well.

As a side note, I was not aware that bike lanes had been added on West Paces Ferry and pretty much thought at first they were poorly designed parallel street parking. It doesn't take but a few minutes to reason out when something new is going on, but better communication should be a goal.

Those are HAWK beacons. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HAWK_beacon

[ElleKaye]

Originally Posted by toll_booth

Yup. One addendum to that--if the street you're turning onto is a two-way street, and the pedestrian is more than one lane away from your direction of travel, you can make the turn. I.e., if you're making a right turn onto a road with the following config:

1 | 2 || 3 | 4(X)

where lanes 1 and 2 are in your new direction of travel, and the pedestrian is currently in lane 4 (marked by the X), then you may turn. If the pedestrian is in lanes 1-3, you may not turn yet.



Are you talking about the HAWK signal--the one that has two red lights per one yellow light? HAWKs progress in the following order:

1. Flashing yellow (just an alert, drivers don't have to slow down)
2. Steady yellow = yellow light
3. Steady red = red light
4. Flashing red = stop sign (This is the one that causes the most trouble. Treat this as a stop sign--which is exactly what you're supposed to do at any other traffic light with a flashing red light.)
5. Lights turn off = green light

Originally Posted by cqholt

Those are HAWK beacons. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HAWK_beacon

Thanks for the information toll_booth and cqholt about the HAWK beacons. I didn't even know what they were called. Even if I saw the person had not begun to cross from other side of the street, I stopped if anything was blinking or solid no matter what the color.

Toll_booth, it is good to hear that a a regular crosswalk, it's legal to go ahead and make the turn when the pedestrian is a 4. Under normal circumstance (before a few months ago), I would have done it at 3 because it's not like I plan to initiate a head on collision with 3 or 4 so the pedestrian is not in danger of getting hit by my car. Recently, I have been waiting until they completely crossed to the other side which is excruciating considering the small window of opportunity often available to make the turn and how irritated the drivers behind me are based on the honking.

Anyway, I thank you both.

[bu2]

Originally Posted by toll_booth

Indeed.

A couple years ago someone around here posted an article claiming that narrower lanes on surface streets were key to improving road safety--from 12' to 10', if I remember right. I dismissed the thought at the time, but in hindsight, it's probably an effective plan. For instance, there's no way that I'm going 40+ on Monroe Drive just east of Piedmont Park. Those lanes are friggin' narrow!

It slows down traffic, but also leads to more collisions between vehicles as there is less margin for error.