Beschreibung

The pedestrian crossing at the location of East Broad Street and the I-95 N/S bound on-ramp is dangerous and warrants further investigation. This pedestrian crossing is in violation of several MUTCD federal standards. This crossing violates MUTCD Section 4C.05 Warrant 4, Pedestrian Volume category 02.B where in for a given 1 hour on an average day the plotted vehicle per hour (vph) on the major street and the corresponding pedestrian per hour (pph) crossing the major street falls above the curve shown in Figure 4C-7 of the MUTCD standard. Additionally, this pedestrian crossing violates MUTCD Section 4C.05 Warrant 4, Pedestrian Volume category 04 in that the nearest traffic control signal or STOP sign controlling the street that pedestrians desire to cross is greater than 300 feet in the eastern and western directions. Furthermore there is insufficient marking as the white lines which designate pedestrian travel are non-visible. The absence of properly defined crosswalk markings is in violation of MUTCD Section 3B.18 which states that when crosswalk lines are used, they shall consist of solid white lines that mark the crosswalk etc.
During the last few weeks, I have personally witnessed several near vehicle-pedestrian collisions at this crosswalk, in addition to nearly being struck by a vehicle myself. If the city wishes to keep its nurses who work at VCU’s hospital alive and its engineers at VDOT’s central office working, then it should address this crosswalk. The reason for this increase in pedestrian foot-traffic is due to more residences of the Shockoe Bottom area commuting to work via the transportation modus of moving one’s feet (I am aware this is a shocking revelation). This increase in preference for walking is beneficial to the city as it cuts down on the number of vehicles on the road.
One possible solution to this dilemma might be to install Pedestrian Detecting Photo-Sensing Bollards with crosswalk warning lights (http://www.xwalk.com/pages/Photo-Sensor-Bollards.htm). Instead of forcing signalization, the city could provide advanced warning systems to vehicles for pedestrians who are about the cross the walkway.