Comment 62079

By jonathan (registered) | Posted April 11, 2011 at 23:57:18

According to the city's Installation Criteria for Intersection and Mid-Block Pedestrian Signals, "mid-block or intersection pedestrian signals shall not be installed less than 215 metres from another protected crossing."

This...boggled my mind. Really? 215m? That seems...excessive.

The policy explains this minimum distance on the basis of pedestrian safety. "If two traffic signals or other devices are located in close proximity, there is a significant chance that the driver may look past the first device and take his cues from the farther location. This could result in a pedestrian being struck or rear end collision occurring."

Ahh...that does kind of make sense. As one who drives a significant amount every year, I can understand this. I recall an incident a number of years ago where I fell to this exact problem, running right through a red light. But I know we have ways of combating this...there's special light fixtures designed to alleviate this exact issue. Though now that we've gone LED on our stoplights, the cost of one of these lenses is going to be much more than it could have.

Oh, I did the math. That would be a 3.2 minute detour (plus the timing of the light) for the average pedestrian. At my walking speed, probably closer to two. Not bad, in the grand scheme of things...but I'd still jaywalk to avoid it.

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