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<DIV dir=ltr align=left><FONT face=Tahoma size=2><B>Subject:</B> Article: Is
there time to cross?<BR></FONT><BR></DIV>
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<P><BR><BR>Courtesy: Southernpups. <BR>> news-journalonline.<WBR>com
(SM)<BR>> September 27, 2007<BR>> Study: Increase crosswalk crossing times
for pedestrians<BR>> By RAY WEISS<BR>> Staff Writer<BR>> DAYTONA BEACH
-- Cars roared by Allan Coddington as he stood alone on the<BR>> corner of
busy Beville Road and Clyde Morris Boulevard.<BR>> Like a sprinter, he would
have 30 seconds to cross four lanes of traffic<BR>> when the light changed.
But Coddington is no sprinter. At age 60, he is <BR>> disabled<BR>> and
walks with a cane.<BR>"There's not enough time, and I'm still pretty good at
walking," he said,<BR>> after avoiding a car that was making a right turn and
blocking the <BR>> intersection. "I've<BR>> had many close calls. I could
use another five seconds. But it's even <BR>> worse for<BR>> someone older
than me."<BR>A recent study from the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety
recommended<BR>> increasing traffic signal intervals for pedestrians to
accommodate the <BR>> slower pace of<BR>> older Americans. Signals that
meet the recommended federal guideline of<BR>>
one-second-for-<WBR>every-four-<WBR>feet often do not allow sufficient time for
<BR>> people 65 and older, or those with disabilities.<BR>Researchers in six
metropolitan areas, including Broward County, came away<BR>> with their
findings after observing pedestrians of all ages.<BR>> Jon Cheney, who heads
Volusia County's traffic engineering department, <BR>> said most<BR>>
crosswalks in the road system -- which covers all cities except Daytona <BR>>
Beach and<BR>> Deltona -- have been upgraded with timers that count down the
number of <BR>> seconds that remain to cross an intersection. He said the new
technology <BR>> has eliminated<BR>> a lot of guesswork, especially for
slower people walking.<BR>> But occasional complaints still are made to his
office from elderly or <BR>> disabled people<BR>> who feel they must race
across an intersection to make it in time.<BR>"If we get a request, we'll go out
and meet them there," Cheney said.<BR>> "We'll observe them and tweak the
timing," if necessary.<BR>As baby boomers age, the problem is expected to
intensify nationally and<BR>> locally, as older people are forced to give up
their cars and take public<BR>> transportation or walk.<BR>Carol Ann and Bob
Moritz, 64, of Daytona Beach aren't at that point yet,<BR>> although they
realize they might be one day. She said American drivers,<BR>> self-appointed
"kings of the road," often view pedestrians as an <BR>> inconvenience.<BR>"We
don't walk across the wide streets, but people who do have a problem,"<BR>>
said Carol Ann Moritz, who lived in Japan for 15 years. "Over there, <BR>>
drivers are<BR>> pedestrian-friendly<WBR>. The respect is very
high."<BR>Nanette Taitt escorted her father, Richard Wilson, 73, visiting from
Port<BR>> St. Lucie, across Beach Street in Daytona Beach on Wednesday.
Halfway <BR>> through a<BR>> crosswalk, the signal began flashing,
indicating the time to clear the <BR>> intersection was<BR>> running
out.<BR>"If he were by himself, he wouldn't notice it," she said of her father,
who <BR>is ill.<BR>> "I wouldn't let him cross by himself."<BR>A 2006 Volusia
County Metropolitan Planning Organization study done for<BR>> Votran looked
into transportation alternatives for an aging population, <BR>> where
an<BR>> estimated 22 percent of the population in Volusia, and 29 percent in
<BR>> Flagler, is 65 and older.<BR>Those numbers are expected to skyrocket in
the future. "A lot more people <BR>will be spending the end of their lives not
driving," said Gary<BR>> Willoughby, Votran's assistant general manager.
"Even if they ride a bus,<BR>> they still have to walk." Among the 35-page
study's recommendations for <BR>> improving pedestrian safety are midblock
crosswalks on long streets with <BR>> no intersections (like those in Daytona
Beach Shores);<BR>traffic signals with push-to-walk buttons; and traffic signals
that<BR>> provide time to cross without people feeling rushed.<BR>The authors
of the recent national study say the recommended rate for<BR>> walking speed
should be lowered from four to 3.5 feet per second. That <BR>> change also
has been recommended by the National Committee on Uniform <BR>> Traffic
Control Devices, an advisory body to the highway administration <BR>> whose
members are appointed by 21 transportation-<WBR>related<BR>> organizations,
including AAA.<BR>Doug Hecox, a spokesman for the Federal Highway
Administration, said<BR>> officials there are expected to decide whether to
adopt the recommendation <BR>> within the next several weeks.<BR>A stopwatch
check of several busy intersections found that time intervals <BR>at
crosswalks<BR>> ranged from a low of 30 seconds to a high of 45 seconds.
That's still <BR>> much too fast a change for Kathy Davis of Ormond Beach,
president of<BR>> the National Federation of the Blind in Florida. She and
her guide dog <BR>> don't risk<BR>> walking across the six-lane
intersection at Granada Boulevard, the city's <BR>> main east-west artery,
and Clyde Morris Boulevard.<BR>"They said I couldn't do it or I'd be dead," she
said of her guide dog <BR>orientation<BR>> trainers. "It would be great if
they had an audible signal. But I think <BR>> everyone's<BR>> governed by
money. And compared to drivers, we are a minority out there."<BR>Currently, the
crosswalk signal near her subdivision stays on for 42 <BR>seconds.
Adding<BR>> to her fear is the lack of a left-turn-only signal to delay cars
from<BR>> turning onto Granada from Clyde Morris and into the path of
pedestrians. <BR>> Davis said<BR>> she, as well as older residents of an
assisted living facility a block <BR>> away, need at<BR>> least another 20
seconds to cross safely.<BR>"I'd love to be able to walk across the street," she
said. "But I'm not <BR>going to<BR>> get maimed or killed doing
it."<BR>><BR>.<A
href="mailto:weiss%40news-jrnl.com">weiss@news-jrnl.<WBR>com</A><BR>-- The
Associated Press contributed to this report.<BR>Rules of the Road<BR>The Florida
Department of Transportation has specific laws that cover<BR>> drivers and
pedestrians at signaled crosswalks. They include:<BR>> · A driver turning
right on red, where allowed, must yield to pedestrians.<BR>> · Drivers
turning left or right at a green light must yield the right of<BR>> way to
pedestrians within the intersection or an adjacent crosswalk. Safe <BR>>
yielding requires stopping and waiting if the pedestrian is in the <BR>>
driver's lane.<BR>> · At some locations, a slow walker may not have reached
the far side of <BR>> the road<BR>> when the steady, stop-walking
crosswalk signal is displayed. However, some <BR>> crossing<BR>> time
still remains.<BR>> · If a person using a guide dog, walker, crutch, cane or
wheelchair is <BR>> crossing an<BR>> intersection, a driver must stop and
take reasonable precautions to avoid <BR>> injuring<BR>> a
pedestrian.<BR>> · Unless otherwise directed, pedestrians facing a steady red
crosswalk <BR>> control signal<BR>> shall not enter the
roadway.<BR><BR>> <BR><BR>-- <BR>I am using the free version of SPAMfighter
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