NCDOT succumbs to the truly awesome power of DE
Or something like that.
I came home from work yesterday, and lo and behold, there was a bright shiny crosswalk on Roxboro St. at Knox St.
Roxboro/Knox intersection, from southwest corner looking east.
Signage reminding drivers that pedestrians in the crosswalk have the right-of-way should go up in the next day or two.
It was just last fall that NCDOT was telling neighborhood residents that the only way to cross Roxboro to get to our neighborhood park was to walk a couple of hundred yards down the hill to the new collector/distributor (on/off ramp for you laypeople) at I-85, and cross 7 lanes of traffic, including two fairly free flowing lanes that entered or exited directly from the freeway, and then walk a couple of hundred yards back up the hill.
Thanks to the phone calls and letters of many neighbors (i'm going to single out Marty Nelson who organized a mailing list to keep people informed, and Frank Hyman, who wrote a great column in the Durham News) to state officials, including Secretary of Transportation Lyndo Tippett and Governor Mike Easley, NCDOT received enough pressure to rethink their approach.
And Durham city Transportation Department people like Phil Loziuk and Mark Ahrendsen were able to show, from the engineer's perspective, how the crosswalk would benefit all parties.
Readers of this blog who drive on Roxboro St. should also note that there is no longer a left turn allowed from northbound Roxboro onto West Knox. Also, remember that those of us walking across the street have the right-of-way.
Don't make me get medieval on your ass if you fail to stop for me when i'm crossing the street.
I came home from work yesterday, and lo and behold, there was a bright shiny crosswalk on Roxboro St. at Knox St.
Roxboro/Knox intersection, from southwest corner looking east.
Signage reminding drivers that pedestrians in the crosswalk have the right-of-way should go up in the next day or two.
It was just last fall that NCDOT was telling neighborhood residents that the only way to cross Roxboro to get to our neighborhood park was to walk a couple of hundred yards down the hill to the new collector/distributor (on/off ramp for you laypeople) at I-85, and cross 7 lanes of traffic, including two fairly free flowing lanes that entered or exited directly from the freeway, and then walk a couple of hundred yards back up the hill.
Thanks to the phone calls and letters of many neighbors (i'm going to single out Marty Nelson who organized a mailing list to keep people informed, and Frank Hyman, who wrote a great column in the Durham News) to state officials, including Secretary of Transportation Lyndo Tippett and Governor Mike Easley, NCDOT received enough pressure to rethink their approach.
And Durham city Transportation Department people like Phil Loziuk and Mark Ahrendsen were able to show, from the engineer's perspective, how the crosswalk would benefit all parties.
Readers of this blog who drive on Roxboro St. should also note that there is no longer a left turn allowed from northbound Roxboro onto West Knox. Also, remember that those of us walking across the street have the right-of-way.
Don't make me get medieval on your ass if you fail to stop for me when i'm crossing the street.
Labels: Duke Park, Pedestrian safety, Traffic calming
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3 Comments:
Congratulations Barry - it is no mean feat to get DOT to acknowledge the existence of pedestrians, much less accommodate them.
GK
By
Gary, at 9:09 AM
Well done, that is quite a surprise. Now we just need to get some tall flags for people to carry as they cross here to get the attention of vehicles flying down that hill.
By
Anonymous, at 10:33 AM
Believe it or not, i'm already designing them.
A crew was installing the bright yellow/green "pedestrians here" signs this morning as i left for work.
Long term, we've talked about a light which would flash indicating "Pedestrian in crosswalk ahead" similar to the one on the curvy section of Cornwallis (i think). There's some expense attached to that, but less than the expense of someone getting hit.
Durham may never be as pedestrian-friendly as, say, Portland, but we're starting to make a difference.
By
Barry, at 10:44 AM
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