[Cagdu] FW: Article: Is there time to cross?

[tina thomas]

Subject: Article: Is there time to cross?





Courtesy: Southernpups. 
> news-journalonline.com (SM)
> September 27, 2007
> Study: Increase crosswalk crossing times for pedestrians
> By RAY WEISS
> Staff Writer
> DAYTONA BEACH -- Cars roared by Allan Coddington as he stood alone on the
> corner of busy Beville Road and Clyde Morris Boulevard.
> Like a sprinter, he would have 30 seconds to cross four lanes of traffic
> when the light changed. But Coddington is no sprinter. At age 60, he is 
> disabled
> and walks with a cane.
"There's not enough time, and I'm still pretty good at walking," he said,
> after avoiding a car that was making a right turn and blocking the 
> intersection. "I've
> had many close calls. I could use another five seconds. But it's even 
> worse for
> someone older than me."
A recent study from the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety recommended
> increasing traffic signal intervals for pedestrians to accommodate the 
> slower pace of
> older Americans. Signals that meet the recommended federal guideline of
> one-second-for-every-four-feet often do not allow sufficient time for 
> people 65 and older, or those with disabilities.
Researchers in six metropolitan areas, including Broward County, came away
> with their findings after observing pedestrians of all ages.
> Jon Cheney, who heads Volusia County's traffic engineering department, 
> said most
> crosswalks in the road system -- which covers all cities except Daytona 
> Beach and
> Deltona -- have been upgraded with timers that count down the number of 
> seconds that remain to cross an intersection. He said the new technology 
> has eliminated
> a lot of guesswork, especially for slower people walking.
> But occasional complaints still are made to his office from elderly or 
> disabled people
> who feel they must race across an intersection to make it in time.
"If we get a request, we'll go out and meet them there," Cheney said.
> "We'll observe them and tweak the timing," if necessary.
As baby boomers age, the problem is expected to intensify nationally and
> locally, as older people are forced to give up their cars and take public
> transportation or walk.
Carol Ann and Bob Moritz, 64, of Daytona Beach aren't at that point yet,
> although they realize they might be one day. She said American drivers,
> self-appointed "kings of the road," often view pedestrians as an 
> inconvenience.
"We don't walk across the wide streets, but people who do have a problem,"
> said Carol Ann Moritz, who lived in Japan for 15 years. "Over there, 
> drivers are
> pedestrian-friendly. The respect is very high."
Nanette Taitt escorted her father, Richard Wilson, 73, visiting from Port
> St. Lucie, across Beach Street in Daytona Beach on Wednesday. Halfway 
> through a
> crosswalk, the signal began flashing, indicating the time to clear the 
> intersection was
> running out.
"If he were by himself, he wouldn't notice it," she said of her father, who 
is ill.
> "I wouldn't let him cross by himself."
A 2006 Volusia County Metropolitan Planning Organization study done for
> Votran looked into transportation alternatives for an aging population, 
> where an
> estimated 22 percent of the population in Volusia, and 29 percent in 
> Flagler, is 65 and older.
Those numbers are expected to skyrocket in the future. "A lot more people 
will be spending the end of their lives not driving," said Gary
> Willoughby, Votran's assistant general manager. "Even if they ride a bus,
> they still have to walk." Among the 35-page study's recommendations for 
> improving pedestrian safety are midblock crosswalks on long streets with 
> no intersections (like those in Daytona Beach Shores);
traffic signals with push-to-walk buttons; and traffic signals that
> provide time to cross without people feeling rushed.
The authors of the recent national study say the recommended rate for
> walking speed should be lowered from four to 3.5 feet per second. That 
> change also has been recommended by the National Committee on Uniform 
> Traffic Control Devices, an advisory body to the highway administration 
> whose members are appointed by 21 transportation-related
> organizations, including AAA.
Doug Hecox, a spokesman for the Federal Highway Administration, said
> officials there are expected to decide whether to adopt the recommendation

> within the next several weeks.
A stopwatch check of several busy intersections found that time intervals 
at crosswalks
> ranged from a low of 30 seconds to a high of 45 seconds. That's still 
> much too fast a change for Kathy Davis of Ormond Beach, president of
> the National Federation of the Blind in Florida. She and her guide dog 
> don't risk
> walking across the six-lane intersection at Granada Boulevard, the city's 
> main east-west artery, and Clyde Morris Boulevard.
"They said I couldn't do it or I'd be dead," she said of her guide dog 
orientation
> trainers. "It would be great if they had an audible signal. But I think 
> everyone's
> governed by money. And compared to drivers, we are a minority out there."
Currently, the crosswalk signal near her subdivision stays on for 42 
seconds. Adding
> to her fear is the lack of a left-turn-only signal to delay cars from
> turning onto Granada from Clyde Morris and into the path of pedestrians. 
> Davis said
> she, as well as older residents of an assisted living facility a block 
> away, need at
> least another 20 seconds to cross safely.
"I'd love to be able to walk across the street," she said. "But I'm not 
going to
> get maimed or killed doing it."
>
.weiss at news-jrnl. <mailto:weiss%40news-jrnl.com> com
-- The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Rules of the Road
The Florida Department of Transportation has specific laws that cover
> drivers and pedestrians at signaled crosswalks. They include:
> . A driver turning right on red, where allowed, must yield to pedestrians.
> . Drivers turning left or right at a green light must yield the right of
> way to pedestrians within the intersection or an adjacent crosswalk. Safe 
> yielding requires stopping and waiting if the pedestrian is in the 
> driver's lane.
> . At some locations, a slow walker may not have reached the far side of 
> the road
> when the steady, stop-walking crosswalk signal is displayed. However, some

> crossing
> time still remains.
> . If a person using a guide dog, walker, crutch, cane or wheelchair is 
> crossing an
> intersection, a driver must stop and take reasonable precautions to avoid 
> injuring
> a pedestrian.
> . Unless otherwise directed, pedestrians facing a steady red crosswalk 
> control signal
> shall not enter the roadway.

> 

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