Deering Ave pedestrian island

[Chuck Lerch]

Hi all,

I've noticed that the current configuration of the new pedestrian island requires westbound vehicles to swerve to the right (into the bike lane) to avoid it. I could not find any publicly posted details on plans for the bike lane, parking, striping, etc. Can someone point me in the right direction? Happy to email the city or engineering firm to request documents.

Thanks,

Chuck

[Aaron L. Rosenblum]

Also true of the new island at Forest Ave. and Belfort St.! That corridor needs much better pedestrian crossings, but the island has caused almost daily dangerous situations for me on my bike. 

Aaron 

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[winston.lumpkins]

I haven't seen either of these, but I'll try to check them out on my ride this morning. 

As a cyclist, and pedestrian, I prefer raised crosswalks to both bump outs and center islands.  I also kinda think that bump outs and center islands don't slow cars as much as raised crosswalks and speed bumps do, and can lead to some weird driving behaviors, like motorists passing cyclists in the opposing lane with an island, as Zack, Emma Scudder & I once experienced on Ludlow Street. 

I find it exceedingly unpleasant and dangerous when a bike lane disappears into the hard curb of a bump out, forcing bicyclists to merge with motorist traffic, or when a refuge island causes motorists to merge with a bike lane, while a speed bump seems to slow cars a lot more and, at least for me, might cause me to slow down a little (a good thing) but doesn't present much of a hazard at all.  As a Pedestrian, I just feel like the real slowdown cars do to a raised crosswalk (if it's raised enough) makes them a lot more likely to bother stopping than either of the other treatments. 

I think this illustrates the inherent weakness PBPAC has; we generally comment on changes like this after they're made, when it's expensive and difficult to change them...

[Scsmedia]

The Deering Avenue island that Chuck Lerch is refering to is at King Middle School and the road to Fitzpatrick stadium at the Deering Oaks entrance.  I saw them late at night coming home from an event and was surprised to see them as I had not heard any conversation about installing them.  Yet another place the city has done work without even providing notice.

Steven Scharf

207-415-4662

SCSM...@aol.com