Q: On far too many days, I examine pedestrians being hit and killed on native streets at evening. What might be performed to curb this troubling pattern?
Mary Francis and plenty of extra
A: Six pedestrians have been killed in San Jose since Jan. 1, 5 of whom who weren't in crosswalks after they have been hit.
Colin Heyne, spokesman for the Metropolis of San Jose, had this to say:
“Each site visitors loss of life is a tragedy, however when the sufferer is strolling, driving a motorcycle, or has mobility challenges, it's much more appalling. We definitely need individuals to make use of the crosswalk, and to that finish have been enhancing crossings throughout the town with high-visibility paint, upgraded pushbuttons, and main pedestrian intervals, the place an individual strolling will get a head-start earlier than the sunshine turns inexperienced for drivers. In just a few locations, we've put in fencing to make it harder to cross the highway exterior of a sidewalk.
“Everybody has a job to play to enhance security. The Nationwide Freeway Transportation Security Company has good pedestrian suggestions at https://www.nhtsa.gov/road-safety/pedestrian-safety. For San Jose, with many lengthy stretches of roadway with out marked crossings, strolling security tip #5 is necessary to think about:
“If a crosswalk or intersection just isn't accessible, find a well-lit space the place you've got the very best view of site visitors. Watch for a niche in site visitors that permits sufficient time to cross safely; proceed expecting site visitors as you cross. And for everybody driving a automobile, the company’s first tip for drivers is essential: Look out for pedestrians in every single place, always.
“That is particularly necessary in San Jose, the place high-speed streets and expressways journey previous buying facilities, colleges, hospitals, and trails.
“The #1 identified reason behind site visitors deaths in San Jose is dashing by drivers. That's the reason a lot of our work focuses on ‘calming,’ engineer-speak for slowing site visitors. Lane discount and re-sizing, sign retiming, bike-friendly frontage lanes, and landscaping in medians all work towards slowing drivers, which makes collisions much less more likely to be lethal.
“Lots of your readers write in to query the good thing about these remedies, however I feel we are able to all agree on the significance of defending human life.
“San Jose was constructed across the need to maneuver individuals shortly in automobiles. That aim is inherently in battle with the necessity to enable individuals to stroll and bike safely. We’re working to rectify that drawback, but it surely takes time.
“In the intervening time, we're growing academic campaigns to deal with essentially the most egregious habits.”
Along with what Colin advises, know that crosswalks can provide a false sense of safety as pedestrians might imagine it makes them unlikely to be hit.
Search for Gary Richards at Fb.com/mr.roadshow, or contact him at mrroadshow@bayareanewsgroup.com.