Description
As with many other pedestrian signals in New Haven, the signal for pedestrians crossing George at the west side of College says STOP even when the 1-way traffic on George has a red light. Therefore, pedestrians learn they need to ignore this signal. This of course leads to problems at many of the other intersections. All that needs to be done is reprogram the pedestrian signals in a sensible manner so there is no incentive to ignore them.
4 Comments
Brian Tang (Guest)
I totally agree. In fact, I can't understand a single crosswalk signal in downtown, which is why I always just cross with the green light.
Still, the tragic accident earlier this week makes me feel like that might not be such a good idea. I guess it's a matter of whether I trust turning drivers to yield. I think turning drivers would be much more likely to yield if the crosswalk signals didn't send missed messages by always keeping their way clear of pedestrians. How hard would it be to reprogram all the signals in downtown so that, when the light is green, both ped signals in that direction also say "walk?" Isn't that how it works in most cities?
In the mean time, I say "green light" means "go...while looking over your shoulder for turning vehicles."
CT Livable Streets Campaign (Registered User)
I agree that the signaling and crossing designs should all be standardized, with no RTOR enforced throughout the entire downtown.
It is fine to have turning drivers yield to pedestrians, provided that volumes and speeds are low enough and the city uses a leading pedestrian interval (LPI). For these, the city should just adopt the standards found in other progressive cities, like Portland, Cambridge and Boulder.
Conflicts can be reduced if people can understand what is going on (which means it helps to standardize everything, like Brian suggests), but also only if both vehicles and pedestrians are treated with fairness. The current timings, crossing distances, etc., are heavily biased in favor of automobiles and should be addressed to create an equitable system for users of all ages and abilities.
Brian Tang (Registered User)
クローズド Department of Transportation, Traffic and Parking (Registered User)