Uplifting News

Okay cool, but what about reconsidering streets from a pedestrian's perspective?

Wouldn't it be nice if they were narrower, had raised crosswalks, a rough surface that's uncomfortable to drive on too quickly, and lines of trees/bollards/gargoyles/^(trees carved to look like gargoyles holding bollards) between the road and the sidewalk to protect pedestrians and provide a better speed reference for drivers?

…come to think of it, the pedestrians (a.k.a. voting taxpayers) would probably rather not pay the taxes needed to finance all these upgrades, and would prefer the much cheaper solution of simply disallowing private automobiles on any street where that is possible. Though, more trees are always welcome. Just about everyone prefers more trees. (As long as the city plants trees of both sexes! Squirrels and allergy sufferers ^(including gargoyles) will thank you!)

Turns out, 80% of drivers dont give a shit what the speed limit is.

For one thing, local governments don’t always have the authority to make these changes — at least not without jumping through some hoops. State laws often require local communities to perform engineering studies to justify a lower speed limit.

This is one thing I’m running up against. The main road that bisects my community is a state highway, five lanes wide with a speed limit of 45.

Children are bussed across the street from the school because it’s so unsafe to cross. The walk signals are barely long enough for an able-bodied person to make it in time, let alone the elderly or children. And there are cars turning while you attempt to cross.

But I can yell at my local government - of which my dad is a part - all I want and they’re helpless to do anything because it’s a state highway. And I’ve told my state rep - who’s someone I know from high school - and he said there’s no way he could do anything because the legislature would never vote for less highways.

Only reducing the speed limit is next to useless: most people will continue driving the speed the road is designed for, except that the police get extra ticket revenue. How does that help?

They cite Boston as an example where it worked, but they need to take a closer look. Boston has some of the worst traffic in the country, keeping speeds lower. Boston is older than most other us cities and has narrow winding streets, keeping speeds lower. Most importantly, Boston has been taking additional steps such as installing medians, curb bumps, roundabouts, bike lanes, bus lanes, reducing lanes. While they’re not doing enough, it is plenty of additional Steps for Boston to not be a representative example f just reducing speed l8mits

Why? Pedestrians should only be in the street when crossing at safe spots and after making sure it was clear. Thats how we were taught in the 90s. Now they just walk into the street at any point, and expect a 2,000 lb vehicle to immediately stop for them, usually without pausing to check if it’s clear. They call it pedestrian rights, I call it stupidity.