Skip to Content
Streetsblog USA home
Streetsblog USA home
Log In
Streetsblog.net

The Design Tragedies That Pass for Road “Improvements”

11:03 AM EST on January 10, 2012

Let's say a cash-strapped city invests a quarter of a million dollars to speed traffic on a road. But those precious local resources would only serve to make the road more dangerous for pedestrians and cyclists -- and might even lengthen wait times for people in cars.

false

You might call it crazy. But in old-school transportation engineering circles, they call things like that "improvements" or "upgrades."

According to James Sinclair at Network blog Stop and Move, that's exactly what's happening in the city of Fresno, where local officials have decided to spend $250,000 on a new turn lane at an intersection that's already a disaster for pedestrians:

Since this is Fresno, we know there's nothing higher on the priority list than finding yet another way to widen a street. An upgrade, as it's usually called, although the only thing being upgraded are vehicle speeds. And even that is questionable. Yes, one would expect a dedicated turn lane to improve the efficiency of those looking to turn right in their private vehicle ... But what of everyone else?

In my calculations, this "improvement" negatively impacts many people. Pedestrians lose out in two big ways. Well, three, if you include the fact that $250,000 could have probably built a whole lot of sidewalk in places without any...

1) Those crossing Kings Canyon find themselves with an even wider road to cross, and so an even less pleasant experience. Pedestrians crossing Kings Canyon must already walk past 7 lanes, and now it will be 8 (one of the lanes is an unstriped bus bay). That's 96 feet, just to make it across a road.

2) And now they'll have to deal with a lovely right turn lane, in which turning right on red as quickly as possible is almost the law. Those crossing north will have to be on their toes if there is a large vehicle in the right-through lane, because anyone wishing to turn right in the new lane will speed past the crosswalk line to get a good view.

Sinclair goes on to add that the expensive new lane will also, ironically, slow down car travel, because the additional width will require longer crossing times for pedestrians. I think this is what you might call a lose-lose.

Elsewhere on the network today: Pattern Cities asks readers to participate in a research project to identify conflicts between public and private space. Seattle Transit Blog explores how bike sharing systems can be made available to those who lack bank accounts. And Carfree with Kids shows off their expanded-cargospace bike collection, perfect for ferrying around to youngsters.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog USA

Why We Care About Some Transportation Tragedies More Than Others

Why do we respond to major transportation disasters with so much urgency — and why don't we count our collective car crash epidemic among them?

March 28, 2024

The Toll of History: MTA Board Approves $15 Congestion Pricing Fee

New York City's first-in-the-nation congestion pricing tolls are one historic step closer to reality after Wednesday's 11-1 MTA board vote. Next step: all those pesky lawsuits.

March 28, 2024

Take Thursday’s Headlines Home, Country Roads

Heat Map reports on why rural Americans are resisting electric vehicles, and why it might not matter much for the climate.

March 28, 2024

Guest Commentary: Traffic Engineers Must Put Safety Over Driver Throughput

No other field would tolerate this level of death and destruction. The tragedy of West Portal is more evidence that the traffic engineering profession is fundamentally broken.

March 27, 2024
See all posts