Crossing Denton: The Strange Ways of Downtown Crosswalk Signals

If you walk around downtown on a regular basis, you have no doubt realized the irregularities of the crosswalk signals. Some are by design and some are simply accidental problems to address. I set out to categorize these issues today as part of work a group of citizens have been doing to address pedestrian safety issues in the core of Denton. I am putting this in front of the relevant city staff and will be asking for a follow-up report for the council Mobility Committee.

HICKORY and ELM

This intersection generally works the way you would expect: no matter which way you are walking, pedestrians are given a green “walking man” once the traffic light goes green and a red hand once the traffic light goes yellow.

There are problems, however, with the two signals located on the NE corner of this intersection (the corner of the courthouse):

– the signal meant to signal pedestrians crossing North across Hickory is angled too much to the East making it impossible to see what is on the signal when you are standing on the SE corner of Hickory and Elm. This is a simple fix – just change the angle.

– the signal meant to signal pedestrians crossing East across Elm doesn’t work at all until the countdown begins (no red hand and no green walking man at any point). Again, another simple fix.

HICKORY and LOCUST

This intersection is confusing for pedestrians and car drivers alike and the pedestrian signals exasperate the situation. This is where one-way Hickory meets two-way Hickory head-on. Cars coming from both the East and West on Hickory seemingly have no idea who has the right-of-way when wanting to turn North on Locust during a red light.

Here are the pedestrian signal issues at this intersection:

– when the traffic light turns green for cars on Hickory Street, the pedestrian signal for pedestrians crossing Locust stays red for approximately 13 seconds. I’m assuming this is by design, meant for cars to move freely without having to yield to those pesky pedestrians. The problem with this is obvious: if the situation is meant to give preference to the movement of cars, what signals to the cars that it is now time to yield to the pedestrian? Is a car driver supposed to pay attention to both the traffic light (which is green) AND the pedestrian light (which may be green or red) when approaching this intersection? Furthermore, given that this scenario is only present in 2 out of the 9 possible car traffic patterns on the square, it is as confusing for the driver as it is for the pedestrian. The square should be a place where pedestrians are given preference. This is an easy fix, though I suspect it is a problem that is there by design.

– if you are crossing Hickory on the West side of Locust, the rules are different depending on whether you are walking North or walking South. If you are walking South, the crosswalk signal is green as soon as the traffic light is green. However, if you are walking North on this same side of the street, the crosswalk signal is red and it doesn’t signal for you to cross until the countdown begins.  This is an easy fix.

OAK and LOCUST

If you are crossing Oak from any of the four corners of this intersection, you face the precise opposite situation that we described at the Hickory and Locust intersection. Here the pedestrian is signaled to cross Oak at the same time the traffic signal turns green. The problem is that you are given a solid red hand a full 15 seconds before the traffic signal turns yellow. Again, social engineering dictates that pedestrians need consistency in how these signals work. If they have ample time to clear an intersection here well after the red hand comes on, they may think they can do so at other intersections. This, also, seems to be a simple timing fix.

OAK and ELM

The same timing issue plaguing those crossing Locust at Hickory impacts those crossing Elm at Oak Street. The traffic signal gives cars coming West on Oak a full 13 seconds prior to giving a green signal for pedestrians crossing in all directions.

EXAMINE THE POLICY OF ALLOWING TURNING ON RED DOWNTOWN

Another general issue that is present at each of these intersections is the law allowing drivers to turn both left and right on red. In order to do so safely, a driver must pull up into the crosswalk in order to have the sufficient line of sight to turn in either direction. This is counterproductive to a pedestrian-friendly environment. The City Council should consider passing an ordinance making it illegal to turn either right or left on red on the immediate square, despite the allowance by state law.