02-05-2016, 01:34 PM
(02-04-2016, 06:01 PM)ijmorlan Wrote:(02-04-2016, 09:20 AM)MidTowner Wrote: On Union, some motorists seem to already be in the practice yielding their right of way to trail users. That’s maybe a nice courtesy, but it’s dangerous when behaviour is unpredictable and people have different expectations.
This is why we should be doing a lot more with pedestrian refuges. If I only have to cross a single, one-directional lane of traffic, it’s not hard to see whether it is safe. On top of that, many drivers want to be helpful to pedestrians and will yield — but doing some on a two-directional road isn’t as helpful as the drivers may believe, and this is even more so on a four-lane road, where one driver stopping doesn’t even guarantee that all traffic in their direction is stopped.
Or when a "do-gooder" stops suddenly to let a pedestrian cross and gets rear-ended by the car behind them. The driver in the behind car is at fault legally, but that's beside the point. I suppose this could even be dangerous to the crossing pedestrian if the rear-end collision is forceful enough to propel the "do-gooder's" car forward.
And as ijmorlan suggests, on multi-lane roads a "do-gooder" in the curb lane can obscure the passing car in the inside lane, resulting in a pedestrian getting hit, etc.
I agree that pedestrian refuges, large enough to provide safe refuge for a bicycle, walker, wheelchair, etc. would go a long way to increase pedestrian safety where trails cross busy streets.