file photo by Boyd Loving
Based on this important Study ..mid block crosswalks like the one in front of the driveway at Kings and the Library should be removed until a mid block permanent pedestrian triggered red light signal
is installed.
Dark hours and dusk are where danger increases as well as fog and rainy conditions .Children and elders are also particularly at risk at this mid block cross walk.
Police largely ignore this dangerous condition outside their own building partly because they are in seated in patrol cars rather than on foot .A crossing guard in the meantime is needed there for dark winter period.
repeating Lens study Link :
Midblock crosswalks are more dangerous than corner ones but that situation can be ameliorated by pedestrian triggered signals, but they don’t have to be red lights. Flashing yellow lights work fine and are in wide use in Montclair and Princeton where I have seen them and found in my personal experience them to be effective. There is a version installed on Linwood at the crosswalk to Graydon but I have yet to have seen it activated .
I had a situation a few years back where I saw a pedestrian waiting at the crosswalk by Kings so I stopped to allow her to cross only to see it was my daughter. A genius in a BMW decided to pass me on my right and almost ran her over. I have seen this happen along Franklin and Ridgewood avenues also.
In transportation planning historically they speak of the 3 E’s, Engineering, Enforcement and Education. Currently in Ridgewood when we get good engineering traditional driving types scream bloody murder about it slowing them down, there is minimal traffic enforcement and the little education seems to go in one ear and out the other (at this point who hasn’t heard that texting while driving, or doing emails while driving is dangerous?).
For things to improve we need a cultural change in town either from a large enough segment of the population to put pressure on the council to make changes or from a council that leads and realizes that 24 people a year hit by cars in town is too much. The blame game (they don’t use crosswalks etc) is a waste of time and bandwidth. In the end, everyone in town is at some point a pedestrian, unless they have magic powers that allow them to park directly in front of every store they go to. And I doubt that any person on this blog or in town doesn’t at some point jaywalk or open up a car door without carefully looking to see if a car is approaching-people are not perfect. But it shouldn’t be that making a minor mistake (or accidentally tripping and falling)costs you your life.
The mayor in Europe of the town where Vision Zero first appeared said something like this-(We know people will continue to ignore education and will make mistakes so we reengineered our roads to make it harder for them to get killed. ) A large part of the engineering is aimed at slowing cars down in central business districts. Yes it might cost drivers a little bit of time, but when a pedestrian does something unexpected it gives the driver more reaction time because they see the pedestrian sooner and can stop or swerve easier. I think the tradeoff of a little time for lives is not a bad one.
where is here good “engineering ” in Ridgewood ,not the Village Hall or the suicide bike lanes ,or the $500,000 toilets?
“Based on this important Study…”
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Ha Ha.
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These 5 words have heralded in more opressive changes than any third world dictator could in a lifetime…
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just curious James how qualified you are to judge the bike lanes. When is the last time you rode a bicycle and how many miles a year do you ride? I ride 2-3000 miles a year, as well as being involved with the largest bicycle safety organization east of the Mississippi (if not the country). Prior to the bike lane, crossing beneath the railroad tracks was very uncomfortable for me (an experienced rider) and likely unsafe or undoable for less experienced cyclists. And no, we don’t want bicycles on sidewalks with pedestrians so the sidewalks and tunnels between platforms aren’t real options.
last time was both last Wednesday and Thursday , I don’t where the outfits , but I am a consummate cycler thanks as for you “bike safety group” , if they didnt point how stupid and dangerous the suicide bike were in Ridgewood , they cant be good for much
James bicycles all over the place, Len Diamond, everyone knows this. Who died and appointed you the only person who knows how to ride a bike? You sound like a real pompous ass.
THE
BIKE
LANE
IS
N E V E R E V E R
USED
Wouldn’t mind seeing one of the crosswalk signals like the one on Linwood by Graydon. I’ve used it mutliple times. Put it on Maple by the library/Kings.
Might I dare say it….help some deserving citizen ,child or visitor and also Drivers during
dark winters ..NO BRAINER…
Thanks to the anonymous individual calling me a pompous ass. Very nice and brave of you. James if you ever want to ride around town and have a civil conversation about the roads in Ridgewood, let me know.