obvious solution to hitting walker at crosswalk

http://www.therecord.com/news/local/article/581501--signalized-intersections-dangerous-places-for-pedestrians-statistics-show

WATERLOO REGION — Intersections with traffic signals appear to be dangerous places for pedestrians, according to regional traffic statistics.

Last year, 119 pedestrians were struck by vehicles on regional streets and roads and about 70 per cent of those were struck at signalized intersections.

And 75 per cent of the pedestrians hit by vehicles in signalized intersections had the right-of-way when crossing with the “walk” signal at an intersection.

The numbers are contained in the region’s annual collision report.

Bob Henderson, the region’s manager of transportation engineering, said traffic signals are installed to move vehicles through an intersection and not for pedestrian safety.

Henderson said pedestrians should take no comfort in crossing with traffic signals, as the number of pedestrians struck by vehicles usually quadruples after lights are installed.

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Quote from Zoolander: Mugatu: "I feel like I'm taking crazy pills!" ...

D - OK, here is the blindingly, stupidly obvious solution.
The 'crosswalk signal' is not for the pedestrian. The walkers KNOW when they are supposed to walk.
It's for the drivers. But it is not physically near the 'driver signal', where the drivers are all looking... why not?
Put the %^*&&*%&!!! crosswalk signal in the same location- preferably even in the same fixture, as the driver signal light.

Honestly, I feel like I'm taking crazy pills.

light rail. caroline &erb. crunch!!!

http://www.therecord.com/opinion/columns/article/647412--waterloo-crossroad-a-potential-mess

D - yeah, what he said.

The intersection of Caroline and Erb streets is an odd traffic challenge. You’ve got one-way streets meeting two-way streets meeting a meandering railway track meeting trails.

Today the intersection is at the heart of a resurgent corner, flanked by the Centre for International Governance Innovation, the Balsillie School of International Affairs and the expanded Knox Presbyterian Church. And guess what’s coming?

Rail transit (a train through the intersection every 7.5 minutes in rush hour by 2017) plus extra traffic from the Barrel Yards condominium development taking shape nearby at Father David Bauer Drive. Up to 1,200 residences are planned.

...

On average the intersection sees nine collisions a year. No one is injured in three-quarters of them and all injuries between 2005 and 2010 were minimal or minor. The intersection is not among the region’s 100 most dangerous, possibly because people tend to pay attention in making their way through it.

The unusual traffic mix is evident in reviewing 51 collisions between 2005 and 2010. The tally includes five collisions involving bicycles, three involving pedestrians and one between a train and a car in which no one was hurt.

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D - provide fast (even more costly) bus service in this PRIME high-density area (along with the new condo down the road at Westmount!) and voila. No more cars.

I don't know what it is - likely the trail to the U - but cyclists act like idiots at this corner, blowing thru don't walk stale green lights.
I've nearly creamed a coupla myself.

graphic florida pedestrian-safety video

http://autos.aol.com/article/is-a-pedestrian-safety-video-too-graphic/?ncid=dynaldusaolp00000023


http://autos.aol.com/article/is-a-pedestrian-safety-video-too-graphic/?ncid=dynaldusaolp00000023

D - that's not my complaint. Most of the video involves walkers acting like squirrels scurrying randomly across streets fast, without looking, and from unexpected places.
I'd be happy if cars just checked at pedestrian crosswalks.

divert cars to surface road from freeway for < co2

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/12/111214144758.htm

Funneling cars along surface streets instead of freeways helped to limit fuel consumption, for instance. Intelligently targeting travelers was another strategy that worked: Rerouting just one fifth of drivers -- those who would benefit most from a new path -- reduced regional emissions by about 20 percent.

Sadek, a transportation systems expert, says one reason green routing is appealing is because it's a strategy that consumers and transportation agencies could start using today.

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D - and in the summer, this would mean less smog days.

Aside- there is a proposal for a HOV - high occupancy vehicle- lane - a carpool- on the 401.

http://www.therecord.com/news/local/article/634394--highway-401-carpool-lanes-proposed

D - despite working fine, they are deeply resented and disliked by most drivers.

Ignorance should not control policy though.

boxcars better than trucks

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/12/111208173716.htm

Much of that impact boils down to simple efficiency, according to Erica Bickford, a graduate student in UW-Madison's Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies. For each ton they carry, long-distance trucks go about 150 miles on a gallon of diesel fuel. Trains can move a ton more than 400 miles per gallon.

Shifting from road to rail 500 million tons of the freight passing through or to the Midwest would make a large dent in the carbon dioxide spilled into the air by the movement of goods.

"There's a 31 percent decrease in carbon dioxide produced by freight shipping in the region, and that's straight from emissions," says Bickford, who made a model of freight traffic in 10 Midwestern states from Kansas to Ohio that she presented December 8 in San Francisco at the fall meeting of the American Geophysical Union. "It's 21 million metric tons of CO₂, the equivalent of what's produced by about 4 million cars."

D - let's see if CN can remain relevant.

There was a nasty article in the G&M biz section a few weeks back. Talking about the total lack of accountability for where/when the package is compared to any courier service.

light rail. thoughts.

WATERLOO REGION — Bureaucrats planning rail transit want to find a private firm to operate the $818-million system that launches in 2017.

Rapid transit director Nancy Button proposed Tuesday that council own the transit system and set standards and fares. A private partner would design, build, finance, maintain and operate it under contract for up to 30 years.

The private firm would assume risks around construction and operation, Button explained, while bringing expertise and innovation that regional government lacks.

Rail transit “really is outside the scale of anything the region has done internally,” Waterloo Coun. Sean Strickland said.

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http://www.therecord.com/news/local/article/635695--private-firm-may-build-operate-rail-transit

D - this ignores the need for mixed development zoning and such.

Waterloo is nearly out of new land to develop. We won't have all that developer cash flowing in, which will leave us in the same boat as Mississauga, which is finding it cannot afford to maintain it's hard and soft public infrastructure.

There is every indication that detached single family houses do not pay for themselves with property taxes.

There was a great article by Mr. Diamond with a Toronto architect firm last Friday in the G&M. But their search engine is nigh-useless, and I could not locate it again.

He suggested requiring intensification only where there are bus routes, instead of the usual v.v.