[sustran] Re: Pedestrian overpasses

[Todd Edelman, Green Idea Factory]

Hi,

Why should pedestrians or cyclists stop for cars?

***

OK., I have had this communication idea for crossing the street, and 
will give it away*:

This could be a web animation or with real actors...

You see a person walking down the pavement on street with their dog. 
They leave the frame (view) towards traffic and you hear them say 
"sit".  Then the camera pans over and you see that they are already most 
of the way across a zebra, crossing the street: It is the car at the 
zebra that is sitting.

- T

* More ideas where this came from.


  Sujit Patwardhan wrote:
> 15 March 2010
>
>
> I feel that except for roads connecting heavy traffic between cities, one
> should avoid having more than two lanes per direction so the question of
> anything other than at grade pedestrian crossings just doesn't arise.
> However I don't know how a BRT is then going to fit into this ??
>
> To me most streets in London and Paris (as well as many cites that I have
> been able to see as a pedestrian, like Düsseldorf, Berlin, Amsterdam,
> Heidelberg etc) seem to fit the bill. To allow city streets to expand to
> four lanes or more per direction in the first place (in order to facilitate
> faster movement of cars) is something to be avoided. If a few streets need
> to be that wide (for historical reasons rather than through deliberate
> design) then they should be pushed underground, in tunnels or with open to
> sky grade separators (like the autobahn passing through German cities like
> Duisburg) while pedestrian, cycles, buses and even slow moving cars continue
> to move slower than 30 Km/hr at the normal ground level, because we should
> be concerned not only about vehicular traffic but also the ambiance (Q of
> Life) of the city.
>
> Your observation that many pedestrians too prefer overpasses is correct but
> perhaps not for the obvious reason. Given the growing domination of the auto
> vehicle in developing countries and the high status cars enjoy, people just
> can't believe that making them (cars) stop for pedestrians is a very
> realistic or workable idea.
>
> If they get the taste of how pleasant it is for people to walk or cycle in
> safety and comfort in a city with enforced speed limits and adequate public
> spaces, I feel they will not look twice at overpasses designed to get them
> off the road for the benefit of the auto vehicle (two wheelers and cars).
>
> --
> Sujit
>
>
>
>
>
> On Mon, Mar 15, 2010 at 7:12 AM, Carlosfelipe Pardo
> <carlosfpardo at gmail.com>wrote:
>
>   
>> Hi,
>>
>> The issue of everyone preferring pedestrian overpasses instead of
>> level-crossings is pretty much ubiquitous in developing countries in
>> Asia and Latin America (I assume Africa, but I don't know this as a
>> fact). But the most interesting part is that many "experts" and even
>> pedestrians prefer those overpasses, and when asking for "safety" in a
>> crossing they ask for an overpass instead of an adequate crossing! I've
>> been shouted at in meetings where I deny the need to have a specific
>> overpass and urge planners to design a crossing instead... they don't
>> understand that overpasses should be the last recourse, that they are
>> also much more expensive and provide a very negative message to many
>> (you, pedestrian, must do extra effort to cross, while the car must just
>> whizz by).
>>
>> This just shows how much we still have to work on these issues...
>>
>> Best regards,
>>
>> Carlos.
>>
>>
>> On 12/03/2010 01:25, jane. wrote:
>>     
>>> Here there is no reason given. Like most things in China, they simply
>>>       
>> just one day appear. Well, it was announced in the newspapers just before
>> construction started, but as I recall, they were simply notices. But I
>> suppose the justification would be something along the lines of "improving
>> traffic."
>>     
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> ________________________________
>>> From: Eric Britton<eric.britton at ecoplan.org>
>>> To: Cornie Huizenga<cornie.huizenga at slocatpartnership.org>; jane.<
>>>       
>> voodikon at yahoo.com>
>>     
>>> Cc: Salil Bijur<salilb at gmail.com>; Global 'South' Sustainable Transport<
>>>       
>> sustran-discuss at list.jca.apc.org>; Kanchan<kittykanchan at gmail.com>;
>> JasonChang<skchang at ntu.edu.tw>
>>     
>>> Sent: Thu, March 11, 2010 11:04:11 PM
>>> Subject: Pedestrian Budget
>>>
>>> Just to be sure I understand rightly the basics on this one.
>>>
>>> The idea, if one scratches, is to get the "other stuff" - i.e., walkers,
>>> cyclists -- out of the way of motorized traffic so that drivers can
>>>       
>> arrive
>>     
>>> unencumbered and on time at their destinations? (No matter how the
>>>       
>> concept
>>     
>>> is otherwise billed.)
>>>
>>> Do I have that right?
>>>
>>> Kind thanks for informing,
>>>
>>> Best/Eric Britton
>>>
>>> PS. If anyone is up to it, this could be  an excellent truth-seeking
>>>       
>> piece
>>     
>>> for World Streets, with the necessary independent balanced coverage of
>>> course. Candidates?
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Note: New Paris tel. +331 7550 3788 . Kindly change your records.
>>>
>>> World Streets  .  www.worldstreets.org
>>> 8/10, rue Jospeh Bara  .  Paris 75006 France
>>> +331 7550 3788  .  eric.britton at newmobility.org  .  Skype newmobility
>>> New Mobility Partnerships   . www.partners.newmobility.org
>>> 9440 Readcrest Drive  .   Los Angeles, CA 90210
>>> +1 213 984 1277 .  fekbritton at gmail.org .  Skype ericbritton
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> --------------------------------------------------------
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>>>
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>>>       
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>>     
>>>       
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>> --------------------------------------------------------
>> If you get sustran-discuss via YAHOOGROUPS, please go to
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>> ================================================================
>> SUSTRAN-DISCUSS is a forum devoted to discussion of people-centred,
>> equitable and sustainable transport with a focus on developing countries
>> (the 'Global South').
>>
>>     
>
>
>
>   


-- 
--------------------------------------------

Todd Edelman
Green Idea Factory

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CAR* is over. If you want it.

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* "Car" is a sub-category of automobile, i.e. one used inappropriately, opportunistically or without creativity