The URL can be used to link to this page

Home My WebLink About1978-09-12 Correspondencei t41CROFILMED''BY JORM 141CROLAI • CEDAR RAPIDS AND UES 1-10INLS, IOv:11 CITY OIOWA CITY CIVIC CENTER- 410 L. WASHINGTON ST IOUA/A CIFY IOWA 52240 (319) 354.1800 September 25, 1918 Harold Bechtoldt 1152 E. Court Street Iowa City, Iowa 52240 i Dear Mr. Rechtoldt: i The City Council would like me to express their appreciation for your E presentation to the Council last September 12. Many of the Issues raised in your letter are serious areas of concern.', i Fortunately, most of them were investigated and seriously considered during the design phase of Washington Street and the, rema !nd downtown.. er of the I + Th e !a u s e of stop signs versus su s t resolved in favor of traffic at raffic' signals in the downtown wntown'area was { goals for the following. reasons: IJith the large number of pedestrians and vehicles, the assignment of right of -way at a stop sign creates a danger to pedestrians.Normally, with a small, number of pedestrians, after pedestrians cross„ vehicles then ,have " the right-of-way and proceed. With the 'extremely'hlgh pedestrian vol- umes present downtown, there are no''breaka.'for automobile traffic and, as a, result, the frustrated vehicle driver finally, pushes into the pedestrian stream resulting in a danger'to the pedestrian. There was also an intent to keeplthr. downtown free of long linea of cars backed up at stop signs waiting for a break tn,the,pedestrlan flows. These pro- blema,were eliminated by,;tha installation of traffic signals which clearly assign right-of-way to either pedestrians or traffic. Unfor- tunately, due to human behavior, many pedestrians are not obeying the traffic lights and are crossing against the lights. Stop signs; rather than aiding the, situation, would make right-of-way allocation more confusing. As,I mentioned earlier, :the issue of traffic signals versus stop signs in the downtown area, and particularly on Washington Street, was discussed in great detail by the City Council prior to the con struction of Washington Street. The issue was resolved in favor of traffic signals. While they do not create an ideal situation in the downtown area, they represent the best allocation of right-of-way that can be had with the present traffic hardware available and taking into account human behavior.' 6sy Iq ICRor ILMED BY _ JORM MICR+LAB CEDAR RAPInS • OGS MOINES I;11CROFILMED BY JORM MICROLAB CEDAR RAPIDS AND DES MOINES, 1UwA The suggestion to install "yield to pedestrians" signs downtown was attempted several years ago at all school crossings in the community. They had no effect upon driver behavior.All of these signs have been replaced with the pentagon -shaped school crossing sign.: It 1s hoped that the distinctive pentagon shape will make drivers aware of t11e school crossing in the area. One must realize that drivers who ignore the presence of a human being standing at the curbside will certainly not change their behavior patterns because of the presence or non - presence of a sign. One of the most frustrating areas of government comes in modifying humnn behavior patterns. Despite the problems, we will again investigate' the use of such signing in the central business district, perhaps with some police assistance. The suggestion to increase the number of trash cans in the downtown area has been seconded by the City Council. Additional containers have been Placed on College Street between Clinton and Dubuque and on Dubuque Street between College and Washington. We believe there will be signif- icant problems with trash until the downtown mall, is completed and a' large number of containers are available. Once again, we move into the human behavioral problem. With ,the torn up downtown, many citizens do not feel any hesitancy in throwing their trash out Into, the construction site: We expect this problem will improve as the downtown becomes completed. " We have checked the pedestrian signal timing along Burlington Street and we believe there may he a problem with misinformation on the meaning of the signal indications. The meaning of these various signal indications Is as follows: "Walk" - The "walk" indication means apedestrian ff the opposite curb and he assured of enough crossing timento8tep makeoit across the street. !The walk indication does not stay on for the entire time a pedestrian crosses the street, We must have the i equivalentof a "yellow light" for pedestrian. Since the pedes- . i trians move much Blower than cars, the yellow light Is much longer, a The yellow light is explained in the flashing "don't walk" as follows. Flash: , � � Flashing bon t Walk,- ey a is the yellow clearancetbe cycle. Many pedestrians feel that the are not Y supposed sed w n PP to be im thc'str street hen'. , t' the flashing dont walk" goes on: This is not correct. The flashing 'dont walk" simply means that if you're in the street you should continue crossing the street' as there Is ample time to safc]y camnlete crossing the street and ifyou have not yet left the Opposite curb, you should ,not _leave it because there will note.. l be time to cross. While the flashing "don't walk" light fe on, motor vehicles still have the red light and you are crossing the street In safety. Solid "non' t' Walk" - This means that the motor vehicle traffic 1s about ready to get the green light or has the green light and you should not he in the street. E 1 141CRUILMCD BYd� JORM MICR6LA13 f.CD:tR RANDS DFS MINE'S f41CROFILMED BY JORM MICROLAB CEDAR RAPIDS AND DES MOINLS, IOWA -3- A typical `signal setting along Burlington is set for seven to eight seconds of "walk" and 14 to 16 seconds of flashing "don't walk". Most pedestrians, particularly the elderly, leave the curb the instant the walk" signal comes on. This means they have a total of 21 to 24 ' seconds to 'cross the street in complete safety with motor vehicles havinga red light. This q means a walking speed of under three feet per second will allow asafe crossing. This is aslow walking pace.. Even) If one were to leave the opposite curb at the instant the flashing "don't walk" started, this would still leave 15 seconds to cross the street and would call for a walking speed of fourfeet per second which is easily obtainable by most people.In other words, crossing on only', the flashing "don't walk" phase will allow'a pedestrian to cross safety If they walk briskly. The "walk" portion of the signal provides an additional large safety margin for those who walk slower or are elderly or handicapped. We have received many comments about traffic signals on Burlington Street and we believe most of the misunderstanding comes about because the meaning of the flashing "don't walk" is not completely understood. The Public. Works Department has Indicated a willingness to meet with groups: of elderly citizens and other groups within the commun- ity to ,explain the exact meaning of the pedestrian signals.: If you know J of any,, groups who 'might be interested in a'' presentation, they may di- "') redly contact Mr. Plastlno, the Public Works Director, or Mr. Brachtel, .the Traffic Engineer. Once again, let me state the City Council's,appreciatlon for your con r cern about pedestrian and traffic circulation in the downtown area. :As - you know, it is no easy problem with the varied m_ I Y P !x of bic cls` spedes: bicycles, trians,.and vehicles driven ,by'many ,out-of-towners'and local'' residents'." 1 lie believe the City is making sincere and safe efforts to best:fill the needs of each mode of transportation but we are always anxious for i suggestions.'- If you have ndditfonal problems or suggestions, please stop in or call. -Sincerely yours, /Neal G. Berlinf 9 City Manager I cc: Dick Plastino 1 Jim Brachtel City Council jml/11 : i I I, 111CROf1LMED BY 'a JORM MICR(6LAB 1 CEDAR „P.AIDS • DES ES MOINES t9ICROFILMED BY JORM MICROLAB CEDAR RAPIDS AND UES MOINES, IOWA Y . r( i Greetings to City Council of. Iowa City I would like to ,suggest for your consideration lthree items which I believe are relevant to developing a safe pleasant downtown. My first suggestionis that yield-to-pedestrian signs be posted on i i .Gilbert where there are cross walks but no. lightsand on.Burlington at `j the lights. State law gives theright of way at cross walks to pedestrians l when walking with the lights and when walking there if there are no lights. I would also suggest increasing [he time allowed. on Burlington for - - walking i f .peestrans wang wtthe,lights after activating walk signal. d h i h li h theti ' I believe many Iowa City drivers have forgotten that pedestrians have the right of way when they are in the cross walk; the signs would recall the state law to those forgetful drivers. My second suggestion has to do with keeping traffic moving slowly, safely but steadily on Clinton, Washington, and Linn streets around the urban renewal core. The suggestion is to 'replace the stop lights with stop signs, 2 way or 3 way as needed, at Clinton and College, at Washington IFti and Dubuque, and at Linn and College. There is simply no need for the IF regular lights currently installed at these intersections; the lights at', Washington and Dubuque are especially ludicrous. With the stop signs and F yield-to-pedestrian signs, pedestrians could cross easily and traffic could keep moving. In addition, the lights could be used elsewhere as needed or sold. 4 i r I ' I i l6s-7 I I '�" MICROHLMED BY E. DORM MICR+LABy I U6AR RAPIDS •DCS MOINES fjl1 ROFILMED BY JORM MICROLAB CEDAR RAPIDS AND UES MOINES, IOWA 4 I I I I ' I: i I { I L. t. My third suggestion may not be important next year when the parking` t ramps are in place; however, it is relevant where ever open air parking lots are being used, especially -at night. The suggestion is to provide I I some relatively cheap trash containers in the parking lots so thatsome t of the rubbish now deposited in 1. the lots might be put in containers. I understand that some children throw soft drink and beer cans onto the parking. 1 surface, but a fewlof them might use such containers if they were avail - ab le. Thank you. 1 e X11 I I,11 H. P. Bechtoldt 1 �t I 14 �IYP I st 1152 E. Court Street. September 12, 1978 F. I NiFit 1 A. L I I J ;' 1 Int � I 1 • I 1 , ' I t I I 1 E. I I , 1 i , s,. T f` NICROOFILMED BY JORM MICR�LAB. v 1 I �. F CEDAR RAPIDS • DES MOINES h11CROFILMED BY JORM MICROLAB CEDAR RAPIDS AND DES MOINES, IOWA fjjCROFILMED BY JORM MI CROLAB CEDAR RAPIDS AND DES MOINES, 10'WA