Pedestrian Bump-outs, Raised Crosswalks, Middle Islands, oh my

[Mary Dateo]

Hi All,

I've been photographing treatments for traffic calming and pedestrian safety, and I'm curious which you prefer, and why. I think these roads are fairly close to the same width, though the 3rd one might be a little narrower.


Bumpout

Pedestrian Island and Raised Crosswalk  

Raised Crosswalk with Sign in middle , no road narrowing


Or maybe you've seen something you like better?


Personally I like the Pedestrian Island and Raised Crosswalk:
- both the gradual raised hump and the narrowing of the street, by the island, slows the cars
- as a cyclist, I don't feel I'm being forced closer to the cars
- as a pedestrian, I like the 2 shorter segments more than the a single longer one, since I can focus on cars from each direction separately.


- Mary

[Bruce England]

Maybe somewhat location-dependent? For example, bulbouts on a long straightaway could be riskier from a user perspective.

Cheers,
Bruce 

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[i -]

The point about only needing to look one direction at a time is the most persuasive. As a pedestrian it is much less stressful, you never need to worry about something you cannot see. Having a vertical element in the center median, such as a sign or planter, is shown to be more effective at speed reduction than bulb outs. Even without raising the crosswalk it can be an effective treatment, and implemented quickly (perhaps as a trial measure while waiting for budget/repaving)

On May 29, 2023, at 5:48 PM, Bruce England <bken...@gmail.com> wrote:



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[Eric Armstrong]

I'm a fan of raised crosswalks.

• They slow traffic without impeding pedalers
• They don't force cars and bikes together, like bulb-outs

But note that even a pedestrian island can force cars and bikes
together. 

As an example, we have a small horror story on Dale Avenue,
at the 101 overcrossing. Someone thought it would be a good
idea to keep cars from running head on at the curve, so they
put in two small islands to keep them in their own lane.

The effect, however, is to totally prevent a car from passing a bike.
(A bike is thereore forced to either make cars behind it wait while
 traveling the road and while making a tricky hairpin turn to the
 bike path, or use the sidewalk--which more cyclists are doing every
day.) 

So islands only work if cars and bikes have wide lanes in the space
that remains. 

Also: Whenever a bike uses a sidewalk or bike lane to counter to 
the normal direction of traffic it is incumbent on the bike (in my 
world, at least), to go slowly, to defer to all vehicles and pedestrians.
I do that, because I am acutely aware of the fact that no one is
looking for me from that direction. So if it's put in place for a school,
an education plan for the school kids is needed.

On 5/30/2023 9:02:00 AM, i - <jisaa...@gmail.com> wrote:

The point about only needing to look one direction at a time is the most persuasive. As a pedestrian it is much less stressful, you never need to worry about something you cannot see. Having a vertical element in the center median, such as a sign or planter, is shown to be more effective at speed reduction than bulb outs or signs. Even without raising the crosswalk it can be an effective treatment, and implemented quickly (perhaps as a trial measure while waiting for budget/repaving)

[Walter Vulej]

I am a huge fan of having a continuous elevation for pedestrians, as has just been installed in the Arastradero Northbound to El Camino Eastbound right turn (see this video for the idea, Street View is still not updated post-construction). While it makes the turn harder as a cyclist, it makes it very clear to everyone that they're entering a pedestrian-first space, and would do so even more if the space was colored like a sidewalk rather than a street.

On that note, it's so much more pleasant to walk (and push a stroller) through sidewalks where driveways don't have a cut, such as Almond Ave in Los Altos. Not only do I get the protection of cars needing to slow down, but also I get to walk at continuous elevation instead of wobbling up and down for the convenience of cars. One more advantage is the elevation boost for kids who are crossing, making them visible from further out.

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[Eric Armstrong]

+1
:__)

Thanks for sharing that link to the idea.
That's what I've been talking about!