Deadly Corner

Aug. 16, 2006

How long does it take for a chicken to cross the road... without getting hit?
A little more than four seconds if you’re talking about Grandview Parkway and the duration of the solid white pedestrian signal.
There is actually no possible way anyone could get across the entire street in busy traffic because the pedestrian signal is so short.
And if that‘s not bad enough, many walkers are tempted to step directly into oncoming traffic at the corner because the light shows “red” on the pedestrian side, but is “green” for cars speeding west towards people crossing the parkway.
For nearly a decade, Bob Otwell, who heads TART Trails, has urged the Michigan Department of Transportation to fix the crossing. The group even led a protest at the intersection last September with picket signs. As an act of civil obedience, they crossed when the signal flashed “walk,” which made it virtually impossible for cars to make a left turn because the light was so short. A Traverse City police officer asked them to stop because they were impeding traffic, said Missy Luyk, TART’s trail program specialist.

REACHING A CONCENSUS
That protest finally brought people to the table to negotiate, along with an analysis by Dan Burden, who did a walkability audit as part of the Bayfront Study by Michigan State University.
Once there was a consensus on Burden’s proposal, the city of Traverse City approved the funding to make it happen. Up until Burden’s proposal, no one could agree on what needed to be done, said Rise Rasch, manager of MDOT’s Transportation Service Center in Traverse City.
Beginning August 14, MDOT will revamp the entire crossing scheme to make it safer for pedestrians. This is especially important for tourists and children who are unfamiliar with the unspoken rules of crossing that locals have come to know, Luyk said.
Luyk said that one of the more dangerous features of the existing signal design was that a pedestrian could easily assume that both lanes of traffic have a red light, when, in fact, the oncoming westbound lane is green. At least three accidents have occurred at the intersection in the last four years, including one man, Gregory Piaskowski, who landed underneath an SUV on his brand new bike in 2004.

TWO CROSSINGS
Yet, instead of crossing just one road, pedestrians will now have to make two crossings on Grandview and Division (see diagram). The existing crosswalk will be torn up. Work starts on August 14.
It seems counter-intuitive that crossing two roads can possibly be safer, but the design signal eliminates the pedestrian friction with left-turning traffic. Instead, they’ll have to cross in front of right-turning traffic going southbound onto Division. MDOT engineers thought that would be safer because right-turning traffic moves slower and has a tighter turn radius than left-turning vehicles.
With the new design, pedestrians can get all the way across Grandview and won’t be forced to stand in the median (actually, there is no median at the new crossing).
Planners have also talked about a tunnel or an overpass, but that’s a long-term goal. Construction of new walks, curb ramps, markings and new signals should be completed within a month, Luyk said.