Improving Cyclist and Pedestrian Environment while maintaining vehicle throughput
Improving Cyclist and Pedestrian Environment While Maintaining Vehicle Throughput – Before- and After-Construction Analysis http://ht.ly/uTxGi
Reallocating road space to enhance bicycle and pedestrian access is frequently a contentious issue in many American cities. This resistance to the redesign was characteristic in Eugene, Oregon, where a key street segment adjacent to a pedestrian- and bicycle-friendly university was retrofitted to accommodate nonmotorized vehicles better. The intention was to expand pedestrian and bicycle access, so a bicycle lane was actually removed in one direction in favor of implementing a shared lane, and physical barriers between an existing contraflow bicycle lane and a one-way automobile traffic lane were also removed. In addition, two-sided parallel parking stalls were replaced with single-sided, back-in angle parking stalls (a first for Eugene), and sidewalks were widened to better accommodate high pedestrian volumes. Video footage to record behavior along this block before and after the redesign was used to study traffic volume changes by mode and changes in behavior. The results demonstrated that bicycle volumes increased, pedestrian crossing volumes increased, and vehicular traffic volumes showed little change after the redesign. The integration of bicycle and vehicular traffic lanes and removal of physical barriers improved safety for nonmotorized vehicles because the rate of traffic conflicts remained low, no collisions occurred, and the redesign provided new ways for convenient navigation around blockages. Despite a perceived increase in chaos, given increased nonmotorized traffic volumes, this block became no less safe after redesign even though nonmotorized traffic volumes and adaptive use of the space greatly increased. Examination of the particular elements of this redesign provides insight into ways that other multimodal traffic streams could be improved.
London to trial “intelligent” pedestrian crossings
London to trial “intelligent” pedestrian crossings – Time allowed changes with number of people waiting to cross.
http://ht.ly/uwavu
Ever walk halfway across a road only to have the light change and force you to make an undignified rush to the other side? The answer is almost certainly yes. If you’re in London, that may soon be a thing of the past however, with Transport for London (TfL) announcing upcoming trials of an “intelligent” pedestrian crossing. Called the Pedestrian Split Cycle Offset Optimisation Technique (SCOOT), it’s part of a £2 billion to £4 billion (US$3.3 billion to US$6.6 billion) program to improve roads over the next ten years and decrease traffic fatalities in the capital by 40 percent by the year 2020.
SCOOT addresses the problem of how to properly time pedestrian crossings in such a way as to make sure as many people as possible cross with the lights, as well as keeping traffic flowing as smoothly as possible. This is especially difficult in high traffic areas. Ideally, the light should be timed to allow everyone to cross, but pedestrian traffic isn’t uniform and what might work for two people might not work for a dozen. Worse, there’s the problem of pedestrians pressing the request button and then crossing against the lights or simply walking away, which creates needless delays.
Pedestrian SCOOT seeks to remedy this by using video cameras to count the number of people in a digital “box” on the crossing pavement. If a large number of people are detected, the system alters the timing of the green walk light to allow more people to cross safely. In addition, if no one is at the crossing, or if someone presses the request button and then crosses against the lights or walks away, the system switches to “call cancel” and doesn’t activate the walk light.
America’s Most Walkable Cities – NYC most pedestrian-friendly, Charlotte least
America’s Most Walkable Cities – New York City most pedestrian-friendly, Charlotte least, ratings indicate http://ht.ly/rz1pU
If you’re headed to the Big Apple, ditch the car and bring comfortable shoes. According to 2014 rankings issued by Walk Score, which rates and promotes walkable neighborhoods, New York is the most pedestrian-friendly U.S. city, followed by San Francisco and Boston. New York neighborhoods best explored on foot include Chinatown, Little Italy and NoHo.
The least walkable – and most car-dependent – U.S. city is Charlotte, North Carolina, followed by Jacksonville, Florida, and Nashville, Tennessee. All three are in the South, where cities have a reputation for sprawl.
GoProGreen.com 