Blinking Pedestrian Lights
September 20, 2007 by Sandy Renshaw
Filed under Community, General, Guest Writer: Field, M.R., Iowa, Transportation
About a year ago a pedestrian-triggered lighted crosswalk-warning sign was placed on University around 26th Street. The light blinks to alert motorists that a pedestrian is in the crosswalk. Four more of the blinking signs have been added at various locations in Des Moines during the past month. The solar-powered lights were paid for by the city and with a traffic safety grant from the Department of Transportation. The new locations are: (1) East Grand near East 13th Street and the state Capitol, (2) around the 2200 block of West Grand, (3) between Mercy Hospital and the hospital’s parking lot in the area of 4th Street, and (4) on University at about 27th Street.
I spoke with a city traffic engineer after seeing the new signs at multiple locations recently. The first blinker was installed because people at Drake had expressed concern about traffic not stopping at crosswalks and pedestrians not crossing the street safely. A study was conducted to assess vehicle and pedestrian numbers before the decision was made to place the light near 26th Street. There has been positive feedback on the sign from the university.
It took about a year to put the additional signs up. This was due to the need to apply for the state grant, to receive the money, to put the work out for bid, and then to complete the work. The engineer with whom I spoke believed that it was in Colorado that another engineer from the city first saw the blinking pedestrian lights.
According to the traffic engineer, pedestrian safety decreases as the number of traffic lanes on a street increases. Painted crosswalks give pedestrians a false sense of security. On a two-lane street, pedestrians often will make eye contact with drivers which increases safety. However, with multi-lane streets, such as Grand and University, the driver of the vehicle closest to the pedestrian may stop but drivers in the next lane, lacking eye contact with pedestrians, are just as likely not to stop.
The engineer also said that the lighted crosswalk-warning signs are a step between crosswalks with static (i.e., non-blinking) signs and traffic signals that take time to go through the green-yellow-red cycle. I tested the blinking pedestrian light near the Capitol and observed that it was quick to engage and allowed sufficient time for a moderately-paced pedestrian to cross. Unfortunately, I later saw a woman running across Grand without first walking to either the lighted or the static crosswalks that were nearby.
Let the traffic and transportation office know what you think of the signs, either as a motorist or as a pedestrian. The telephone number is (515) 283-4973. Just be sure to wait until you park your vehicle or are on the sidewalk if a pedestrian before you make the call.
Guest Writer: M.R. Field is editor of Leading Voices: Iowa.
Sandy Renshaw is Sandy Renshaw is a self-employed communications consultant. You will also find her blogging at Purple Wren.
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I’ve seen the blinking sign on University. It is an attention getter. As I remember I was almost 2 blocks away from the sign while the lights were going off (during daylight hours) and I noticed them.
Strange thing is, I pass that sign several times a day. and I’ve only seen the lights operating once (I think they were installing or testing them at the time). I would imagine that a pedestrian would need to press a button to activate the lights. However nobody seems to be actually pressing the button.
The other pedestrian crossing at Drake is controlled by a traffic light. And even though I’ve seen cars run the light and even more cars wanting to run the light the pedestrians there will press the button engaging the stop light.
I also pass Mercy hospital at least twice a day. I’ve seen many pedestrians crossing the street at the crosswalk, I’ve never seen lights operating on the signs.
So while there is little excuse for a driver to say that they didn’t notice the lights. The pedestrians don’t seem to be actually using them.
I was passing the westside Grand crossing on a cloudy morning in October when someone was crossing with the lights. The lights nearest the starting curb blinked first, then they switched off and the far curb lights blinked. By that time the pedestrian was long gone.
On my return trip, I saw someone using the crosswalk without the lights. When it was my turn, I used the lights and a vehicle did not slow down as I stood at the curb. I waited for the police vehicle to stop then crossed. I smiled to myself as the police vehicle moved ahead with lights and siren to stop the vehicle whose driver had not stopped for me.
I appreciate lights that give pedestrians time to cross but it concerns me that if the lights blink for too long, motorists will get used to passing through them when the pedestrian has already disappeared into a building. Thus, my advice to motorists is to use the blinking lights to remind you to be extra vigilant, even if you do not see a pedestrian when you see the lights.