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Car vs Pedestrian traffic / Bad planning Posted by Camm [Email] (#191) [Profile/Gallery] (more from Camm) on Sun, 16 Jan 2005 18:30:11 In Reply to: On Being Uncivil ..., kaslop, Sat, 15 Jan 2005 14:38:15 Members do not see ads below this line. - Help Keep This Site Online - Signup |
After hearing that there are a rash of accidents in an area, many laypersons (and unfortunately, many city planners) assume that perhaps the road was too narrow, the intersections too sharp (small radius)and the intersection too "challenging". So they spend a fortune to re-do the road, smoothing and widening it. Yet the accidents still keep happening, maybe even at a greater rate defying the expectations that more user-friendly roads lead to less accidents. Surprise! the exact opposite is true. Sharp, small radius intersections, narrow (even 1-lane give-way streets) and narrow streets statistically have lower rates of accidents (car v car, and car v person) Why? SPEED! A wide road with gradual radius bends and "modern" intersections give drivers a lower sense of speed relative to the road. (ever do 30 on a highway? How about a narrow alley?) Since the 50's stats have shown, almost without exception, that the "modernization" of secondary roads, despite our increasingly easy to control and sophisticated cars leads to an increase in accidents on those exact roads. In the past 5 years, a few cities, notably Portland OR have started mandating all secondary new road construction and reconstruction be in line with "new urban" planning concepts - narrow streets, small radius bends, traditional intersections. The resulting spaces are pedestrian friendly, and have a correlation with higher property values also. Nice!
Next lesson: Urban infill. ;)
posted by 24.194.79...
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