Posts by Andrew Bossi

This is one of many special events that take place near the Mall that involve closing roads. Most events like races only require closing roads for a short period of time, and detours for motorists, especially on weekends downtown, do not tend to cause serious issues. Events that fence off whole sections of the city, however, impose real burdens on cyclists and especially pedestrians in a very high-foot-traffic area with many tourists.

As I took a detour over and around Freedom Plaza, I helped many confused (and, in some cases, angry) tourists navigate around the closure. At one point, a group of about a dozen people followed me, and later I had a line of about a dozen people waiting to ask me for directions. In addition, MPD officers were serving more as direction-providing guides than in their intended roles.

At 13th and E, a fire truck blocked the detour path such that pedestrians stepped over sign stands and sandbags between the truck and fence. An elderly woman visiting from Pakistan fell to the ground after tripping over a sign stand. She was all right, other than a bruise and a sore wrist.

Signs would help people navigate and find attractions

For a local, the detour is not particularly confusing; for a tourist, it is bewildering. Summer is certainly the time for DC to put its best foot forward in accommodating visitors and the revenue they bring. Standard pedestrian detour signs and highly visible guides would have helped unfamiliar visitors understand how to continue along their intended path.

Signs and guides might also suggest attractions along the way. For example, if you're already swinging all the way out to 14th Street to get around the festival, why not continue just a little bit more and check out the White House? Or if it's a toasty day (as it was during the BBQ Battle) perhaps highlight a local café along the route or a nearby CVS or 7-Eleven to get a drink.

Require regular openings for events

Similar to construction sites, enclosed events need ADA-compliant paths around fences. Closed sidewalks require pedestrians to walk around three sides of an intersection instead of one. People will often continue to make their way across the closed sidewalk and put themselves at risk.

I recognize that events cannot provide openings at every single block. Staffing costs as well as additional security barriers at checkpoints would likely make this infeasible. Furthermore, customers would feel it to be a hassle to have to repeatedly enter and exit through every gate, breaking up the continuous feel of an event.

Guidelines for these events should have either a maximum distance or number of block faces which may be closed to pedestrian movements along a single path. My suggestion is for a maximum 7-minute detour, which per the MUTCD-established walking speed of 3.5 ft/s would equate to a maximum detour of approximately 1500 ft. At the BBQ Battle, a single opening across Pennsylvania Avenue at 12th Street would have sufficed.

Some events will be unable provide for short detours, such as the inauguration. Those large-scale events are in a league of their own, and only the most unfortunate of tourists will be unaware of the event. Meanwhile, the more numerous and less epic events need to coexist with large numbers of tourists and locals.

Cross-posted at Philatransport.

Just counting collisions misses important facts

How many of these were just property damage? Minor injuries? Major or disabling injuries? Fatalities? It's important to keep in mind that in the District, the number of traffic fatalities each year can usually be counted on one hand.

Some road designs reduce severe crashes but potentially increase minor collisions. For example, many areas are finding "modern roundabouts," the small circles without signals, to be a fantastic alternative to huge intersections with multiple turn lanes or freeway-style interchanges. They move traffic more smoothly and safely, but minor collisions are more common while major ones are less so. Limbs and lives are more valuable than bumpers.

On the flip side, bad road design can contribute to collisions. Short yellow lights or poorly-coordinated signals can lead to red light running. Poor signage or markings can confuse drivers and induce sudden movements. And what about maintenance? Crumbling roads can damage cars, potentially adding to the collision tally if the person places a claim with Allstate.

What about other modes? If the methodology counts based on Allstate claims, it might undercount pedestrians or cyclists being struck who might not have insurance. That could penalize cities with good ped/bike safety practices. On the other hand, areas with more walking and bicycling can require more attention from drivers than areas with long, straight, very wide roads where nobody dares walk, and the rate of cars touching each other might be higher despite the many other benefits of these more lively places.

We also can't let Allstate's and the press's repeated usage of the word "accidents" pass by. When we have thoroughly vetted users traveling on context-sensitive travelways being taken aback by sheer acts of God, then these can be genuinely called "accidents." Until then we have crashes, collisions, and oft-unintended unions of flesh and metal.

Maryland actually has the best drivers?

Rankings always seem to grab the most headlines, and this is useful data for Allstate to release. But it's always important to keep in mind that statistics are very finicky. A quick analysis (XLS) shows that the rankings vary enormously based on what gets factored in.

Allstate ranked areas based on the average time between claims per driver. If we adjust these numbers to equalize vehicle miles traveled per capita, then Maryland comes out with the fewest collisions. So this story could easily have also borne the headline, "Maryland drivers the best in the nation." Are they the best or among the worst? We don't really know enough to say.

What can we do?

Even though it's disputable whether the area's drivers are really the worst, most people aren't contesting or doubting it. Rather, they're nodding in agreement and cheering it on among the blogosphere. We seem to agree that we're lousy drivers.

So perhaps we don't even need thrown-together numbers to tell us that? If we just assume our region is full of bad drivers, what's next?

We could look at licensing regulations, and do more to ensure those who get or keep licenses have a decent competency to drive. However, any weeding-out is politically difficult. What if we were the ones being weeded out? In one study, the vast majority of drivers said they thought they were above average. That's statistically impossible if there's anything close to a normal distribution.

What about enforcement? We could detect and punish more of the particularly unsafe behaviors on our roadways. Automated traffic cameras are an effective solution, but they too encounter resistance. Plus, as with the roundabouts, cameras might actually make a region's Allstate ranking worse while saving lives. Statistics on red light cameras also show that they often lead to more minor low-speed rear-end collisions while reducing the much more dangerous side-impact crashes.

Finally, we can design roads for the safety of all users, motorized and not. There's often pressure to design for higher speeds and then jurisdictions set lower speed limits when people get hurt. We can do more to build in the visual cues that help people slow down, pay attention, and reduce crashes, or at least reduce the most severe ones.

Any of these take some political courage. Will our region's leaders stand up to take action to improve DC's ranking on this survey or, better yet, on the more important statistics of fatalities and severe injuries?