01-31-2016, 04:20 PM
(01-31-2016, 02:18 PM)MidTowner Wrote: I apologize if my remark sounded snide. I really was asking why it would matter that the source of foot traffic is a school. I understand now that you were saying that it is not a walkable area, but does have foot traffic in spite of its poor walkability.
About Ira Needles, I disagree when you say "In St Jacobs, or on Ira Needles, there is usually nary a pedestrian to be seen at any of them, so I think the detour will not become a major issue for many people." I don't think this is accurate regarding Ira Needles: I encounter people walking there. I think we can agree it is not heavily trafficked, but it's not right to say "nary a pedestrian." There are people who walk there. They will be inconvenienced by needless detours. They will be discouraged from walking, along with others.
First, apology accepted, I'll try to be more clear in my writing.
With regard to Ira Needles and pedestrian detours to use level 2 crosswalks, this is a little bit of a different scenario. There isn't really a single natural street crossing (or even two or three), as the shopping area covers a huge amount of space next to Ira Needles: people's destinations may be anywhere and everywhere within this complex (but probably on the far side of the giant parking lot). As such, the most convenient street crossing point may be just about anywhere, and the odds are that it's not where the crosswalk would be located, 30m or not.
So first, I would install a railing here, too, to encourage the use of the crosswalk (especially for our youth who focus more on their phones than the environment surrounding them). And second, I personally believe that 30m away from each roundabout is quite reasonable when put in the context of the 100m of parking lot the pedestrians will just have crossed.
(I'll note here that I walk, and quite a lot at that. Detouring from King to Park to get across the train tracks is crazy, but from my point of view, having to walk 30m away to a crossing is not onerous. But maybe that's just me.)