Description
I am writing out of a love for my city and neighborhood, and an honest fear for my safety and the safety of my family. My concern is the intersection where the beltline (Rte. 127) meets Park Street at Manhattan Drive. This intersection is one of the most dangerous places in Burlington, and unfortunately it is my daughter’s route to school every morning.
I realize that the Beltline is a VTrans road, but VTrans doesn't do enforcement. This makes it the City’s problem. And it is a problem. Every day--especially during the morning commute--many, many drivers run the red light. They do so brazenly, often not even “squeezing the yellow,” but instead pushing through a clear red light, at 50+ mph. As soon as they hit Park Street, it should be a 25 mph speed limit, but these drivers are always pushing 50 when they careen through the intersection.
Over the past three days, my wife and I have seen four drivers run this light--and it is not as if we’re hanging out at the intersection. Those four incidents took place in about 3-4 minutes, as we were trying to cross on foot with our 5 year-old and our 9 year-old. On Thursday, when I was walking West, after having dropped off my girls at IAA, I was crossing with the “walk sign” when a sedan blew through the light. This car was followed by a pickup truck, which entered the intersection nearly a second after the light had turned red. It nearly hit me as it screamed South.
This intersection and road are notorious. VTrans has labeled it as a “High Crash Location.” See the following report:. https://vtrans.vermont.gov/sites/aot/files/highway/documents/highway/Formal%202012-2016%20High%20Crash%20Location%20Report.pdf
I am not an urban planner, but it is still easy to envision a number of potential calming measures. First, the city could add a "Red Signal Ahead" warning light on Rt. 127 that is timed with the traffic light to alert vehicles of the red light ahead. See the following link: https://www.orangetraffic.com/product/red-signal-ahead-advance-traffic-light-warning-road-sign/
Second, the city could add transverse rumble strips at regular intervals across the entire South-bound lane, as cars approach the intersection. This would alert all vehicles to reduce their speed. https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/research/safety/hsis/12047/12047.pdf
Third, the city could install a flashing pedestrian crossing (similar to those on North Avenue). This could either be connected to the crossing/button system OR timed to the traffic light--or both. Perhaps it could be programmed with high pedestrian traffic periods in mind (e.g., the IAA school commute). (See: https://www.burlingtonvt.gov/sites/default/files/u214/RRFB%20Public%20Education%20Brochure%20-%20Burlington%20DPW.pdf)
Please know that I appreciate your time and care--and that I trust that you work every day to ensure the safety of Burlington’s residents. Here, we have a tragedy waiting to happen. I sincerely hope you will act quickly.
Sincerely,
Dov Stucker
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56 Comments
theandreatodd (Registered User)
應答 DPW Pine Customer Service (Verified Official)
That Guy (Registered User)
I see this all the time... light fully red for southbound traffic, people just blow it at full speed.
There is a 25mph sign well in advance of the intersection, but if traffic is moving nobody slows down.
Beth Saunders (Registered User)
I second everything the original poster writes here. I bike with my two kids to school in the warmer months through this intersection, always waiting for the pedestrian signal. Measures to force southbound cars to slow down are overdue.
In the winter we drive, and both my spouse and I have almost been hit driving eastbound, by drivers flying through a red light heading south. The city should take action before it’s too late.
Asatryan (Registered User)
I agree with the original poster - this intersection is dangerous for foot, bike, and vehicle traffic, largely IMO due to the speed maintained by many vehicles coming off the Beltway - the vehicles don't slow appreciably before hitting Park St or turning north onto Manhattan Drive.
A traffic calming measure BEFORE the intersection might be the most effective - folks aren't doing well with transitioning from 50 mph to 25 mph on their own.
That Guy (Registered User)
BurlingtonVTRegisteredReporter (Registered User)
(I presume none of the police use this intersection?)
Strong Neighbor (Registered User)
Susan Munkres (Registered User)
KateM (Registered User)
J S (Registered User)
K8 (Registered User)
Anonymous (Registered User)
Route 127 needs to be controlled BEFORE the Manhattan/Park intersection. It ends in a residential area and school route, yet drivers are allowed to treat the neighborhood as an extension of the highway and always will unless something structural is done. Signage is a waste of materials and space, as the current 25mph signage approaching the intersection proves. Demanding reductions via speed bumps or rumble strips before the intersection is necessary. Furthermore, the entrance onto Park Street must be reduced to one lane, as the current two-lane arrangement encourages speeding. Also, make the pedestrian crossing light more than 5 seconds.
Every single time I walk my kids to school and back, I witness multiple vehicles run the red light. If pedestrians chose to exercise their rights, by simply following the lights and rules established by the City, there would be a daily body-count at this intersection. This and North Champlain are long-known problems that are simply not being addressed. I have witnessed collisions at Park, I have almost been hit crossing Park, and I have actually been hit crossing North Champlain. DO SOMETHING ALREADY. My kids need to get to school safely.
RTG (Registered User)
Benjamin R (Registered User)
NorthChamp (Registered User)
That Guy (Registered User)
NorthChamp (Registered User)
Traffic Signal Engineer (Verified Official)
SaintPauliGirl (Registered User)
Beth Saunders (Registered User)
Anonymous (Registered User)
BurlingtonVTRegisteredReporter (Registered User)
That Guy (Registered User)
The response is: "the intersection is functioning as designed"
Not sure that is the official response from DPW, or just the signal engineer.
OldVtr (Registered User)
BurlingtonVTRegisteredReporter (Registered User)
Missa Aloisi (Registered User)
關閉 DPW Pine Customer Service (Verified Official)
Traffic Signal Engineer (Verified Official)
DPW Public Information Manager (Verified Official)
Reopened DPW Public Information Manager (Verified Official)
Due to ongoing monitoring and evaluation of this area, we are reopening this request. It should not have been closed - we apologize for the error.
We are actively evaluating this intersection, any potential remedies and requesting additional police presence.
Thank you.
應答 DPW Public Information Manager (Verified Official)
The Cudneys (Registered User)
Fix BTV (Registered User)
BurlingtonVTRegisteredReporter (Registered User)
That Guy (Registered User)
Anonymous (Registered User)
Traffic Signal Engineer (Verified Official)
BurlingtonVTRegisteredReporter (Registered User)
Excuse the caps lock: THIS WAS THOROUGHLY DISCUSSED ONE YEAR AGO and the police and DPW do NOT care about you and your children! Please - prove me wrong.
Anonymous (Registered User)
Dov Stucker (Registered User)
I appreciate folks re-opening the dialogue about this intersection. I sent an email to DPW decision-makers in May that received no response. Perhaps See Click Fix is a better way to communicate with those who determine our city's transportation priorities. Edited for brevity, my email said the following:
*****
Reducing speeds coming off of 127 will undoubtedly have a huge impact, but there is another design question which also feels relevant: the safety of the East-West crossing at that intersection itself. When we met with DPW on-site, you mentioned that one approach could be to create a "raised crosswalk." This would be amazing, but there is another simpler design change that would be easy, costs nothing, and would greatly improve the safety of that crossing: lengthening the crossing time for pedestrians.
A few days ago, my daughter and I were crossing the intersection and, unprompted, she said "Why do you only have 5 seconds to get across? By the time you look to make sure no cars are coming, there are only a few seconds left." She right. Especially given how poor the sight-lines are (which is even more true for school-age children), it takes several seconds to ensure that the crossing is safe, and by that time, the light has nearly changed again. Increasing the time for pedestrians by even 2 seconds would have an immediate impact.
**********
It has been a year since twelve [12] children under the age of ten attended the DPW Commission meeting, advocating for a safe route to school. Cars still speed through the intersection, and regularly enter a residential area at 10-15 mph over the speed limit. This is fundamentally a design problem. The good news is that this can be redesigned. There have been _many_ insightful suggestions in this thread--as well as many that have come from DPW itself. Unfortunately, a comprehensive solution has not been undertaken.
Elementary students return to school four days/week in a few weeks. It would be wonderful to know that their safety has been addressed--and that one of Burlington's most dangerous intersections is safe for cars, bikers, and pedestrians.
DPW Public Information Manager (Verified Official)
Dov Stucker (Registered User)
DPW Public Information Manager (Verified Official)
Thank you all for your patience. We appreciated the on-site meeting with the community last year. We want to update you on actions taken since then and some upcoming work in this vicinity to further enhance pedestrian safety. We know other suggestions have been made above this comment, so have tried to be responsive to those down below as well.
- The southbound red clearance from the Beltline was increased from 1.0 to 2.0 seconds so as to better allow vehicles to clear the intersection before the E/W pedestrian walk phase across Park St is illuminated.
- The east-west pedestrian signals were installed and activated in mid-June on North Champlain St
- A temporary radar speed feedback sign on the southbound Rt 127 intersection approach was put up earlier this year for several weeks and a permanent radar speed feedback sign will be installed at the same location by approximately late November
- The current pedestrian signal at Park allows a 13 second phase (5 seconds walk, 5 seconds flashing don’t walk, and 3 second buffer before Manhattan (parallel) gets a green) to get across this somewhat narrow crossing. This is one of the few exclusive pedestrian crossings in the City.
- We are communicating about next steps with the fence owner - the State of Vermont – with the goal of removing the fence and lengthening sight lines if we can obtain their permission.
- We will also communicate the need for vegetation clearing to our partners in the Parks Department
- We obtained regulatory approvals from Public Works Commission to decrease the speed limit coming off of the Beltline onto Park Street in a tapered manner and we have signed the transition accordingly
- We are working with our consultant on designs for further potential improvements to the geometry of Manhattan Drive and the intersections of North Champlain and Park Streets. Public meetings for that work will be hosted this winter with the goal of making initial adjustments in 2021.
We understand how important pedestrian safety is to you - and for the children who use this area.
BurlingtonVTRegisteredReporter (Registered User)
DPW Planning NL (Verified Official)
iceu (Registered User)
make a decision city folks!!
That Guy (Registered User)
NorthChamp (Registered User)
Traffic Signal Engineer (Verified Official)
Traffic Signal Engineer (Verified Official)
Drew St neighbor (Registered User)
That Guy (Registered User)
That Guy (Registered User)
Burlington, VT (Verified Official)
Holder (Registered User)