Columbus Street User Safety Updates (Pedestrians, Cyclists, and Motorists) (Cleveland: 2015, homes)

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This thread will have current updates on street improvements in Columbus for safer conditions or lack thereof where improvements are needed for all users, especially vulnerable ones like pedestrians and cyclists.

1st up: here in East Franklinton aka Short North 2.0 on W Broad where they want to build mixed-use this and that, a pedestrian was hit crossing Starling Street while he had right of way and the motorist ran a red light heading down on Broad. Clearly, the current layout of Broad as a high-speed suburban arterial road is at odds with the vision of a dense walkable neighborhood where "walkable" also means that cars are slowed to safer speeds among a dense pedestrian environment. Note that after hitting the pedestrian the car veered and crashed into a bus shelter on the sidewalk, which if there had been people waiting for the bus would have compunded this incident further.

Would the driver have ran the light on a W Broad redesigned for 25 MPH speeds? Possibly, but the pedestrian would much more likely not be in as critical condition now from being struck at a significantly slower speed and the driver would've had more time to brake and avoid hitting the pedestrian. When is Broad going to get narrowed and calmed? Because it needs to happen sooner than later if the city values its citizens lives when they're outside of cars too.

Two hospitalized when car hits pedestrian, pole in Franklinton | The Columbus Dispatch

This next one occurred at Livingston and Rhodes and no one but the driver was affected: the former clearly needs to be calmed, as I'm sure it's just as uncomfortable to bike down this stretch as it was when I did years ago. I'm sure that utility pole was jaywalking right in front of the blameless driver.

Car Crashes Into Pole, Cutting Power To Some - NBC4i: Columbus, Ohio News, Weather and Sports (WCMH-TV)

On the upside Hague Ave is undergoing pedestrian improvments from Sullivant to Broad due to be completed this summer and here are specifics that matter:

Lowering and reconstructing roadway down to its base, install newfull curbs to improve drainage, build new sidewalks, Americans withDisabilities Act-compliant curb ramps and driveway aprons and plant street trees

Building bump-out curbs at the intersections of Hague Avenue withOlive Street, Palmetto Street, Fremont Street, Wicklow Road, RolandSunker Place and other locations on Hague. Bump-outs help protectparked vehicles, reduce crosswalk length and calm traffic.

Adding pavement markings and bicycle sharrows all along Hagueplus school-zone markings for West Broad Elementary School

While nothing about lowering speeds overall is a negative, the numerous curb bump outs should help at least slow traffic at the above particular intersections depending on far out they go to abut the travel lane: the closer the better. Bike sharrows do very little, of course, unless accompanied by a street design that slows traffic significantly, sharrowed or not. Pedestrians definitely get more of a tangible win here while cyclists will likely be few and far between as they were before since this doesn't address cyclist safety and with the bump outs they'll have to wait for motor traffic to pass by before going out into the travel lane around and past the bump outs at the intersection and then continue back to the right side of the lane where there's room for cars and bikes side by side.

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Hard Rd will be undergoing construction for an additional three lanes and a bike lane on the south side of the street between Sawmill and Smoky Row. Clearly, there's way too much traffic with just two lanes and a turn lane. Only $16.5 million for 1.2 miles of road.

http://columbus.gov/Templates/Detail.aspx?id=80425

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Clearly, this wasn't an "accident" since someone chose to drive through an intersection when they didn't have the right of way. Main St is currently designed as a mini-highway for high-speed traffic and this is the price of saving a few seconds getting in and out of Downtown.

Fatal 4-Car Accident In Downtown Columbus | WBNS-10TV Columbus, Ohio

Earlier in the middle of the month this crash occurred at an intersection of two roads designed for deadly speeds: E 5th and St Clair. It only takes 9 minutes to go from one end of St Clair to the other: by bike. It takes 5 by car, but is it worth this?

http://www.dispatch.com/content/stor...-on-crash.html

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Wait: aren't Summit and 4th due to get protected bikeways? That makes the timing of removing traffic signals on these streets bizarre: ensuring faster traffic speeds with an increase in the number of cyclists? And less pedestrian accessibility and safety? Already taking one step back before taking one forward.

Traffic lights to come down in University District | The Columbus Dispatch

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Yet another child hit while trying to walk across Cleveland Ave: this time it was Urahi Williams-Ross, a ten year old girl, and the article depicts a picture of her with a bright smile, but now she's in a hospital with fractures in her skull. She was trying to cross Cleveland at Cordell when a car in the left lane veered into the right lane just as she stepped onto Cleveland. There is no traffic signal here to stop speeding traffic: you have to walk three blocks north or south and cars are legally allowed to travel at deadly speeds through a street lined with many single family homes. This could have ended worse, since she regained consciousness and is able to speak, instead of being left for dead.

This a tragedy which is preventable; we know how to design safe streets to prevent reckless driving and Columbus has built some, so why is a street with a track record of poor safety left as is with no plans to improve it even with the upcoming CMAX? A stop light here at this intersection would have zero effect on traffic flow and give residents some safety and dignity as there is no reason why they should have a six block moat full of danger and given no safe crossing along its entirety right in their own backyard.

People tend to associate guns with the violence which plagues the neighborhood when in fact the larger threat for the average resident here is the average scofflaw motorist who is enabled by city policy, traffic engineers, and a complacent public. How many more children have to be killed or maimed before there's even an acknowledgement that there's a serious problem? #slowthecars


10-year-old recovering after being struck by car | NBC4i.com

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An update with more details on the hit and run of that poor little girl. Sadly, it doesn't include anything about Columbus taking responsibility to provide a safer Cleveland Ave for its residents.

Mother of child involved in weekend hit skip case speaks out | NBC4i.com

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So forward-thinking Columbus is that residents are protesting the removal of traffic signals on 4th and Summit which are the only things currently stopping traffic to ensure a safer crossing for pedestrians otherwise they have to detour to the next traffic signal to cross the street.

How about those traffic engineers try crossing all of the intersections on these streets including non-signaled ones in heavy traffic to see how safe it is?

http://www.dispatch.com/content/stor...g-signals.html

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I often visit some friend's who live on N. 4th. The noise from the traffic makes it difficult to sit on their front porch and have a conversation. I can attest that most cars go faster than the 35mph posted. How about a resident request the city post one of those radar speed detector trailers. That should show how fast drivers travel. As a last hope, perhaps dedicating one of those lanes for bike traffic trail will remove the feeling of a 4 lane freeway.

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We're finishing up another one-way pair with buffered bike lanes; I should be able to try them out this week. I'm going to bet that noise wise it all depends on which side of the street you're on. Unlike traffic calmed bike boulevards there aren't obstructions directly in front of motorists (speed humps, traffic circles), only off to the side, which can slow them down a bit. And if they have to setup trailors to see if motorists are speeding, then clearly they are unqualified to be in the traffic engineering business.

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Another scofflaw motorist runs into another bus stop where someone was waiting for the bus. It's high time for Columbus to respect the lives and dignity of transit users and pedestrians; motorists prove again they can't handle driving at deadly speeds, so why allow them? Without some serious changes this will continue to be a very common occurrence.

Woman killed when car crashes into COTA bus stop | The Columbus Dispatch