New Crosswalk signs

[Dirt]

Alright… Some of this is moot because all but one of the signs were removed within 12 hours of their installation. That’s a good thing. I half expected to find piles of corpses and crippled bikes at the side of the road near these signs. (Totally kidding about the last part.)

I’ll start off by saying that this is actually an AWESOME Idea that I fully support. The execution was not great. “Yield to Peds in the crosswalks” signs were installed int he middle of the street at all intersections with the W&OD in Falls Church or West Arlington. There were 6 or 7 signs I think.

The good: They’re extremely visible to motorists and a great reminder not to squish us.

The Bad: They’re almost invisible to cyclists in low light, rain or snow.

As usual, I captured them with the wonders of modern photography.

What Motorists see

What cyclists see when it is dark

What cyclists see (or don’t see) when it is light.

This is not anything truly horrible. People would get used to them. It wouldn’t be a problem for regular commuters I don’t think. It could be pretty bad on a busy Saturday when a rain storm rolls in though.

Again… I totally applaud Falls Church and/or Arlington County for the idea of these signs. They probably should have put 2 signs per cross walk and put them just outside the crosswalk instead of in the middle. Reflective stuff on the side would be nice too.

I heard this morning that the District of Columbia liked this idea and is installing Burmese Tiger Traps (complete with pungee sticks) at intersections along the mall. Not to be outdone, Fairfax County has planned an exact replica of the opening action scene fromRaiders of the Lost Ark (Complete with a little gold idol (cast from molybdenum and spray painted gold due to budget issues) at the intersection of the W&OD and Cedar Lane…. All in the name of cyclist and pedestrian safety.

(I’m kidding about that last paragraph.)

Hugs and kisses.

Pete

Topic

[Joe Chapline]

Great documentation, thanks.

[Dirt]

Thank you sir.

I forgot one…

I was pretty impressed with the engineering that went into the signs. They were dang well installed.

PS: Don’t pay any attention to my “Super Gurl” socks. They’re not really a social statement.

[Mark Blacknell]

This is in Falls Church, and their folks are clear on the issue now, it seems. I look forward to them soon replacing them outside of the crosswalk/travel lane.

[Dirt]

Yeah. I kinda figured that it was. I’ve only lived in Falls Church for a dacade and a half and I’m still fuzzy on where it starts and ends. Thanks Mark.

[Dirt]

They’re back!!!!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/pedrogringo/sets/72157625137489255/

Tune into Fox 5 for a report with more photos that they stole from me.

Love,

Pete

[consularrider]

At least this time they are not in the middle of the acutal crosswalk!

[Dirt]

They survived the night. They’re very well placed and they painted the posts bright orange. They’re MUCH more visible than the old signs. They’re also 2′ outside of the crosswalk on either side.

I noticed a Falls Church City public works truck driving around at 0530 checking to see that the signs survived the night. I had stopped to photograph them and the person gave me a serious look. S/he was trying to figure out what I was doing. Once s/he saw my camera flash go off, they drove on by. I saw the same truck at each of the other intersections. I hope they didn’t have to spend the whole night out there patrolling the signs. That would be a crappy job.

[americancyclo]

glad to see these back in a better place in the road. now if we could only get some trail lighting, we’d really be in business!

[Dirt]

@americancyclo 1162 wrote:

glad to see these back in a better place in the road. now if we could only get some trail lighting, we’d really be in business!

Yeah… the valley of certain death is a bit dark. I’ve been distributing Bike Arlington reflective bands to the ninjas that frequent this section of trail at 0-Dark-30. I’m happy to say that out of the 40+ that I’ve given out over the last 2 months that I’m regularly seeing 5-10 people per week actually using them. I’d also add that with dropping temps, the more casual walkers/runners are choosing to stay home. A month ago the vast majority (90%) of the people I encountered on the trail had ZERO reflective gear or lights to help with their safety. From what I can tell, most of them are staying home and almost everyone out on the trails early are the avid walkers/runners that use lights and reflective gear.

We’ll see how my comment changes tonight now that both of my commutes are being done in the dark thanks to the lack of daylight savings. BRING ON THE NIGHT!!!!

Happy riding!!!

Pete

[Dirt]

The signs are all still there Falls Church still has public works trucks going around checking them every morning. I see them every morning on my ride to work. Cool that they’re keeping an eye on things.

[Author]

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