Comments on: Council and Caucus: Pedestrian Agenda

By: KJMClark

KJMClark — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 12:00:19 +0000

“Hieftje reiterated what Eli Cooper, the city’s transportation program manager, had said at the June 1, 2009 council meeting about one fundamental challenge of motorist education in Ann Arbor: Half of the drivers on the roads of Ann Arbor don’t live here.”

This is often repeated and utterly beside the point. We don’t enforce our crosswalk laws at all. When was the last time a motorist was ticketed for failing to yield to a pedestrian that wasn’t the result of a pedestrian being hit? How many crosswalk sting operations have the police conducted in the past decade? There is no motorist education, and there is no enforcement either, when it comes to crosswalks.

If we actually tried enforcement, the word would get out pretty quickly that, like other communities around the country that care about pedestrian safety, pedestrians really do have right of way. What the mayor should have said is that it does no good to change the ordinance, since the police won’t enforce anything other than the status quo.

By: Jim Rees

Jim Rees — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 01:47:27 +0000

It used to be illegal to ride a bike on the sidewalk here, as it is in many parts of the country, but that law was changed some time ago (maybe 20 years). The law does require bikes on the sidewalk to yield to pedestrians and to sound their bell when passing, but most bikers don’t seem to do this.

The best solution at State from Washington to William would be to ban cars from this entire area, but I don’t expect that to happen any time soon. Meanwhile, more pedestrian friendly signal timing would help a lot. Cycle times should be kept to 60 seconds max, and pedestrian lights should be green a significant portion of the cycle time (it’s as little as 5% of the cycle now for some of the signals).

By: kay

kay — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 15:07:53 +0000

I am thrilled to see that there has been some discussion about the issue of pedestrian crossings. I recently moved here from Cambridge, MA, and I was appalled by the rudeness of drivers as well as cyclists in this town. It is next to impossible to cross in a crosswalk that is not at an intersection, and even at intersections I’ve had to jump out of the way of drivers who seem to think that stopping for more than a second is too great of an inconvenience. My boyfriend was actually almost hit by a policeman (who was also talking on a cell phone, I might add) at the intersection of E Huron and Third. Another problem that I’ve had here is with cyclists driving in the sidewalks in the downtown area. I’m not sure what the law is here about cyclists riding on sidewalks (it’s illegal in Cambridge), but even if it’s allowed here, cyclists need to show more courtesy to pedestrians. It’s inconsiderate and unsafe to expect pedestrians to dodge your bike when you could just have easily driven momentarily on another part of the sidewalk. If everyone could be reminded of the rules of the road (perhaps signs at every crosswalk and intersection), it would make the town a safer place for pedestrians and hopefully have the added benefit of encouraging more people to walk – which is both better for your health and better for the environment than driving.

By: Vivienne Armentrout

Vivienne Armentrout — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 19:36:02 +0000

All good comments. Council passed a rule a little while ago giving pedestrians the right-of-way at pedestrian crossings, but I am not quite sure how that works. I was almost rear-ended when I first moved here because in California a pedestrian in the crosswalk has right of way. I stopped for some pedestrians and the car behind me barely stopped in time.

I almost did a stopped-watched item yesterday when I saw this: two mothers with three small children waited for some minutes to cross Beakes near Kerrytown, while cars whizzed past. Finally they put their feet into the road near the curb, and a car coming up actually came to a full stop, inhibiting the rest of the traffic so they were able to cross.

By: Trevor Staples

Trevor Staples — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 19:20:45 +0000

The above comments are exactly why I brought the issue to caucus on Sunday. We are constantly concentrating on certain intersections, when the problem for pedestrians trying to cross streets is city wide. We need to have an organized effort to educate the public about the law. Putting up signs would be a good first step. Many communities give pedestrians the right of way and the drivers follow the rules. Ann Arbor (and visiting out-of-town) drivers are smart enough to follow the rules… if they know them.

If we “fix” half of the intersections in town, we still have half the city with pedestrian crossings that are unfriendly to pedestrians. Let’s try the easiest fix first, which would work city-wide: citizen education.

By: anna ercoli schnitzer

anna ercoli schnitzer — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 17:46:25 +0000

Now that #4 (Mr. Dairy) mentions the South State Street intersection, I would like to add my support to his points–not only for the E. Liberty crossing but also for the N. University intersection with S. State. I have been concerned about this general area since the traffic pattern was changed. This is a major, major street crossing location for students and many other pedestrians, but the traffic lights are so poorly timed that people are tempted to jaywalk to beat the light rather than wait until the next one. And the cars that turn just as people are crossing, make traversing S. State doubly hazardous. The advantage should be given to pedestrians in this central campus location. I like the option of having “…all car traffic stop completely at all three lights for a specified time and pedestrians…use the entire intersection for crossing.” That would be a forward-thinking plan of action.

By: mr dairy

mr dairy — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 14:10:25 +0000

The changes to S State and E Liberty intersection have resulted in one of the most dangerous pedestrian intersections in the city.

With the on street parking, buildings close to the corners and the number of pedestrians in the area makes it very difficult for drivers to get through the intersection with the way the lights are timed.

The many pedestrians, some oblivious and more of them frustrated by the traffic and poor timing of the lights cross against the light adding to the hazards.

How much have merchants benefited from the changes they requested when weighed against the hazards to pedestrians and cyclists? How many accidents have happened at that intersection? Do merchants profits outweigh public safety?

One option there is to have all car traffic stop completely at all three lights for a specified time and pedestrians to use the entire intersection for crossing.

By: Duane Collicott

Duane Collicott — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 13:53:17 +0000

South State at Briarwood need a complete re-work, not just for pedestrians. The whole traffic pattern there is an afterthought, apparently created through time as it was developed, without any overall plan.

By: Mark S.

Mark S. — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 13:24:24 +0000

South State at Briarwood is in desperate need of some way for pedestrians to cross safely. Most of the hotels, filled with out of town visitors, are to the east while the mall and most of the restaurants are on the west side. It’s very common at rush hour (5-6:30) to see a gaggle of professionals trying to dodge traffic getting across.

By: David

David — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 21:11:24 +0000

The intersection of Scio Church and Maple (right before the bridge that goes over 94) is one the city should look at in terms of driver education and possibly other actions. I often cross at this intersection on my way to the Ice Cube or a return trip from the Ice Cube. The drivers at that intersection hardly ever obey the crosswalk or Walk light. The cross walk is in a N-S (or S-N direction depending upon your relative position. There are frequent conflicts with drivers turning right from Scio Church onto Maple or drivers during left from Maple to Scio Church. I have had several close calls and am frequently yelled at by drivers when I attempt to impose my right-of-way.