Just as before, what does it take for this city to see the problems? How long ago were the signals for pedestrians put in Ellen?

Which crosswalk has the most pedestrians hit? Today, it is apparent at which crosswalk the next person will be hit. And who puts them there, “they cross there because that’s where they are supposed to cross?.” Many people have jumped off and told me to do so also, but I don’t. It is a real crying shame this city nor school board can fix a problem with a solution instead of arrogant spiteful band-aids.

The way the Tulane-Turnpike intersection is configured, though, it’s not a particularly good option. To use the walk light to get from the high school to the civic center takes 3 cycles of the light: on the first cycle you cross North Tulane, on th next cycle you cross the Turnpike, then on the third cycle you cross South Tulane. It’s not just teenagers who find that excessive — it seems to me that the intersection should have a walk signal and crosswalk for crossing the the Turnpike on the west side of the intersection. I assume the real problem is that there are special right turn lanes on the west side of the intersection that complicate the addition of a pedestrian crosswalk.

Another reason kids won’t use that intersection is that there isn’t a reasonably direct sidewalk from the school to that corner. On the school’s side of North Tulane there’s no sidewalk connection between the school driveway and Oak Ridge Turnpike.

It wasn’t teenagers being who they are who planned and created this layout, it was adults.

Sidewalk and intersection issues notwithstanding, and disregarding the basic rules of pedestrian safety that were instilled in me in elementary school (”cross at the green, not in between”), I believe it sometimes is actually safer to place a crosswalk in mid-block because it removes the crosswalk from the area where cars are turning. This is because turning drivers are less likely to see pedestrians, and pedestrians are less likely to be aware of turning vehicles. However, I’m not convinced that the mid-block crosswalk from ORHS to the Civic Center is safer than crossing at an intersection would be. Not only doesn’t it have a traffic signal, but also:
*It crosses 5 lanes of traffic (that’s a lot of lanes for a walking person to monitor).
*It’s next to the school entrance, which gets lots of turning traffic.
*It does not cross the street at right angles, but is on a slight diagonal. When I was the first driver stopped in the right lane at the crosswalk, I noticed that that the diagonal orientation made it harder for drivers who are stopped at the crosswalk to see the students and the crossing guard in the crosswalk. When the people in the crosswalk aren’t directly in front of, you may not be able to see them because other vehicles block the view of the rest of the crosswalk.
*Ideally, a crosswalk across this wide a highway would have a “traffic island” or “pedestrian refuge” of some sort in the middle, but the current crosswalk markings actually direct pedestrians to cross through the left-turn lane for people waiting to turn into the high school. (I think a crosswalk probably would work better on the other side of the school entrance driveway — but to get there, kids would have to cross the driveway…)

All in all, I think that the high school crossing could be designed much better. I hope we will be able to improve the situation.

Furthermore, the trumping of safety because a school board says it is needed has its consequences, and as long as students are allowed to J-walk there, accidents happen Trina. Now which is it: Has the school board made the city look like fools for installing crossing equipment, or does the city allow schools to put paint on the road anywhere the school board feels is necessary?

I feel you want to bend the rules and say you are more special than the rest of us who use the crossing equipment, so we will falsely provide safety in a crosswalk with paint and a few signs. If I remember correctly, the next student accident that happens there will bring action to remove that crosswalk all together, too dangerous to cross in the middle of the street. That corner is not too far away for them use when it comes to saving lives.

I’ll do you one better than driving that stretch (which I do daily). I’ve stood out there with the CG and based on what I’ve observed, your last question (why is equipment at the corner) does not jive with what I know to be true. As for your question about using the Tulane crosswalk: The crosswalk was moved to the point that provides the most direct path to the civic center/library (the destination of most students crossing there). The reason (as was explained during a CC meeting after Ellen asked about Tulane) is because teenagers, being who they are, will not take a longer route to reach their destination. Just won’t happen. Many of your questions on the matter have been addressed publicly. Feel free to consult my blog, cc minutes or the local papers for further information.

Ray – If you’ll read your second sentence you’ll realize that you answered your last question.