Topic: Columbus Gets "Walk/Don't Walk" Signs With Timers

[noozer]

I've seen these in other cities and they are great. Looks like Columbus is catching up to the curve .... or is that "curb"?

Crossing street now timed exercise
Four intersections trying out signals that count down to ‘don’t walk’
Saturday, November 18, 2006
Barbara Carmen
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

Columbus city officials are trying an experiment to see whether we can walk fast and count at the same time.  New crosswalk signals that flash a countdown, alerting pedestrians to how many seconds are left before the traffic signal changes, are being installed at four locations in the city.  It’s beat-the-clock, but it’s no game. Columbus ranks as the sixth-most perilous big city for pedestrians.  The "Mean Streets 2004" study by the Surface Transportation Policy Partnership said nearly one of every 100,000 central Ohioans died crossing streets.

City officials think the countdown signs will help.  "There seems to be a lot of confusion on the part of pedestrians with the traditional signs," said Mary Carran Webster, assistant public service director.  When the flashing red hand appears, some are tempted to make a dash, though they shouldn’t start to cross at that point.  Others, already in the crosswalk, get flustered and double back.  With the new signals, the flashing sign also will count down how many seconds until the solid red hand appears and cross traffic gets the green light.

Full story at http://dispatch.com/news-story.php?story=dispatch/2006/11/18/20061118-B6-00.html

[PigBoy]

Signs with countdowns are great.  At the main street crossing at Ohio Wesleyan in Delaware, I learned the number of times the hand would flash before the light changed, and then would always count to know if it was worth quickening my pace.  This extra mental activity is responsible for all subsequent problems in my life.

[Robert Pence]

If we had these in Fort Wayne, they would help drivers to know if they could wait for the light and still get the pedestrian, or if they had to jump it to score a kill.

[UncleRando]

I don't know why these aren't the standard when putting in/replacing signal crossings??  These are great I've seen them in DC, Philla, and some other random places...execellent for pedestrians!!

[Magyar]

So Columbus is catching up with Gahanna.
Great. 

[RiverViewer]

One out of every 100,000 central Ohioans die crossing the street?  Is that annually?

[Rob Jaques]

One out of every 100,000 central Ohioans die crossing the street?  Is that annually?

Wow at that rate, there won't be any Central Ohioans left.....lol.

[Cincinnatus]

NOKY has these and so does DC. Great idea!

[LAsam]

We have those in LA as well, I like them as a driver because I can tell how close the light is to turning yellow.

[SarahBeth]

I think there were a couple of those countdown crossing signals installed on the OSU campus within the past few years.  (Along with a few on Neil near the medical center that featured a monotone voice repeating "THE WALK LIGHT ACROSS NEIL AVENUE IS NOW ON.")

[ColDayMan]

^Yes ma'am.