Our office on Canton Street and the crosswalk between Founders Hall and Fickle Pickle is a risky bet even during broad daylight.

More (close) parking in the area might alleviate some of the autos actually driving up and down down Canton Street, but until that happens, perhaps having pedestrians pressing buttons at crosswalks to activate flashing lights, or put a red light up, to notify drivers that they’ll be entering the crosswalk, like by the school down the street, might be the best answer for the time being.

I think that vehicles' speed along Canton St needs to be addressed by the City and patrolled by our police department.

People drive way too fast along Canton, Mimosa and Magnolia and pay NO attention to the crosswalk or the pedestrians in the crosswalks- even when the pedestrian cross light is lit. On Tuesday trying to cross Magnolia, with the white pedestrian light on, a car came off of Mimosa and missed me by inches- I was lucky I was able to move quickly- my poor dog was scared to death! I agree more police presence is needed. I disagree that the speeding is caused by lack of parking- personally I believe it's lack of respect of others and the law.

This issue was recategorized from Other (Transportation) to Traffic (Sign Concern).

RDOT Admin 1 assigned this issue to Traffic Engineering

Thank you for contacting the City of Roswell Department of Transportation. Your request has been assigned to one of our team members and will be reviewed in the order of priority.

Traffic Engineering assigned this issue to Mike Elliott

Thank you for contacting the City of Roswell regarding the pedestrian environment on Canton Street, and we apologize for the delay in the response.

At the time of the initial inquiry, City staff was in the process of evaluating traffic volumes, traffic speeds and pedestrian crossing activity along Canton Street in the general vicinity of Webb Street. Staff recorded vehicle traffic volumes and speeds using in-road detectors, and video recorded pedestrian traffic activity. The intent of this evaluation was to analyze existing conditions and better forecast future conditions with additional area development, such as the boutique hotel that was approved late last year.

The studies indicated that travel speeds on Canton Street between Magnolia Street and Norcross Street were actually lower than expected (9-12 mph average, most in the range of 5-19 mph), and vehicle-pedestrian interaction was also found to be less riskier than expected, meaning that drivers and pedestrians mutually exhibited reasonably due care in the vast majority of situations. This may be due in part to pedestrian activity rivaling vehicle activity during many times of the day. There was also a very low crash history identified, and only one pedestrian crash in the past few years which involved a DUI driver striking a maintenance worker working in a moving work zone.

Despite these positive findings, staff acknowledges there is opportunity for further pedestrian safety improvements along the corridor, and is evaluating the following:

• Improved street illumination (brighter lights)
• Refurbishing/enhancing existing crosswalk pavement markings
• Installing additional pedestrian warning signage
• Identifying appropriate locations for pedestrian flashing warning beacons
• Improving Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) standards at existing crossing points and intersections
• Identifying new midblock crossing locations

A rectangular rapid flashing beacon system, or “RRFB” (a push-button system that has rapidly-flashing yellow LED strobes attached to the pedestrian signs) was considered for the existing crosswalks in the vicinity of Webb Street. Unfortunately, less than 50% of pedestrians typically push the button before crossing at such devices. Given the number of pedestrians routinely crossing in this area, it was determined that most pedestrians would be crossing when the flashers were not flashing, which could promote a lack of respect for the devices and create a less safe condition. Most drivers on this portion of Canton Street drive slowly and yield to pedestrians in crosswalks, even if they are crossing outside of the crosswalk. However, closer to Woodstock Road there are less pedestrian crossings and such a system may be more appropriate. Staff is currently evaluating potential RRFB crossing locations in this area.

We appreciate your interest in public safety along Canton Street, and please be assured City staff considers this a high priority as well. If you have any further questions or concerns, please feel free to contact City Traffic Engineer, Scott Brunner, at 678-639-7540 or sbrunner@roswellgov.com.

Not sure what time of day this study was done but I was just walking my dog on Canton St which I do daily, and almost again, got hit by a car who didn't " see me in the crosswalk. Cars speed on Canton St ALL the time!

Would raised pedestrian crossings be an options similar to those on the Webb St extension/Mimosa Extension? Especially closer to Woodstock

The speed studies were performed using very accurate magnetic in-road detectors, and were conducted during the timeframe starting 7:00 am September 7, 2018 continuously through 9:00 pm, September 9, 2018 (approximately 62 continuous hours). The highest average speeds (25-30 mph range) were typically occurring between 5:00 am and 6:00 am, with the lowest speeds (6-13 mph) typically occurring between noon and 6:00 pm. Most other times of the day, average speeds were in the 15-24 mph range. Staff also performed several random “pace car’ speed studies between Magnolia Street and Woodstock Road and found most groups of traffic to be traveling in the 15-25 mph range, consistent with the recorded data. Staff is scheduling additional speed studies on Canton Road between Norcross Road and Woodstock Road within the next several weeks. It is acknowledged that some motorists may travel at higher rates of speed in the immediate vicinity of the Woodstock Road intersection, and we are seeking more data in that immediate area.

Raised pedestrian crosswalks or similar types of speed humps or speed tables are currently prohibited on collector roadways such as Canton Street. Canton Street has the lowest recorded speeds of any collector roadway within the city limits, and vertical deflection features such as raised crosswalks or speed tables are not warranted or desirable. As stated in the prior responses, city staff is evaluating several other pedestrian safety measures along the corridor that do not involve speed-hump type treatments.

Thanks for the detailed response.
However, I believe that a more dangerous problem is that motorists are not stopping at crosseslks when pedestrians are present.
They are either on their phone or just daydreaming.
This has been my personal experience.