Bikies,
My wife and I actually have had a lot of cars stop to let us cross
at Odana and especially at Glenway when biking on the SW path. In my
experience, compliance with yielding to pedestrians/bikes at Odana,
Glenway, and Midvale has improved greatly since the SW Path was completed.
That doesn't mean there is not room for improvement. I think the reason
for the improvement is just the shear number of people on the SW Path -
sort of a critical mass walk/bike everyday - and the fact that a lot of
people driving through those intersections also bike through them on the SW
Path. Now if we could just duplicate the compliance improvement on East
Washington Avenue and University Avenue.
At 6:36 PM -0600 10/19/03, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
>On Fri, 17 Oct, Scott Ellington said:
>>
>We already have a mechanism which is intended to minimize such
>hazards. It's called a "speed limit". Unfortunately, the concept is
>completely unknown to most Madison drivers and law enforcement
>personnel.
>>
>That probably explains why 75% of the cars approaching the bike path
>intersections don't even bother to slow up, despite the white crosswalks
>and overhead bicyclist signs. They're simply going too fast and don't
>want to hit the brakes. They don't stop for pedestrians either, even
>those with kids and strollers.
>
>Odana going eastward is especially bad, as Jeff says, due to the hill and
>the skewed angle of the approach, especially when the commuters are
>facing the rising sun. Glenway isn't much better and traffic is heavier.
> Midvale is probably the safest, but the cars are going the faster and
>there's more of them.
>
>Flashing yellow would probably be too expensive for the city to afford,
>but perhaps a sign that said "stop for pedestrians and bicyclists" would
>prevent what is currently now inevitable in my opinion.
>
>Mike N.
>
>"If I've made myself too clear, you must have misunderstood me."
>--Alan Greenspan (Economist)
>
>At 5:21 PM -0500 10/16/03, Schimpff, Jeff A wrote:
>>Locally, we should examine intersections such as the SW Path crossings
>of
>>Midvale, and especially Odana - eastbound, perhaps even Glenway, to see
>if
>>they might merit flashing yellow lights to alert drivers. Sensors could
>>trigger warning lights and a klaxon to alert peds, cyclists, roller
>skiers,
>>etc., that a vehicle is approaching too fast to safely cross, and the
>trail
>>user could respond appropriately...
Mark N. Shahan ------ __o
607 Piper Drive ------- _`\<,_
Madison, WI 53711-1338 ---- (*)/ (*)
(608) 274-9367
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
_______________________________________________
Bikies mailing list
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
http://www.danenet.org/mailman/listinfo/bikies
