Twin Cities Streets for People

Theodore Q. Larson, an 81-year old man crossing Park Avenue at 15th Street, died today in the second of two deadly crashes in two weeks.  Mr. Larson had a walk signal as he was crossing the street when a school bus turned left, striking him.  Mr. Larson was in critical condition after the crash just after 2pm on Tuesday, and died later Tuesday evening, the Hennepin County medical examiner told the Star Tribune.

Just last week, cyclist Dennis Dumm was struck and killed by a semi truck while bicycling one block south of the intersection where Mr. Larson was killed.  Mr. Dumm was also legally crossing through a green light, after stopping at a red light, when a truck turned in front of him and struck him.

Citations for the drivers have not been issued in either case, pending an investigation.  According to Minneapolis Police Officer Matthew Clark, who is not part of either investigation, the cases are forwarded to a certified accident investigator.  The driver submits to a drug test, and the results of the investigation, the drug test and the initial accident report are forwarded to the county or city attorney’s office for prosecutorial review. 

Minneapolis is seeing more and more people walking and bicycling.  Our mayor has even issued a challenge to Portland, which currently has the Country’s highest rates of bicycling, that he wants to make Minneapolis the #1 bicycling city in the country.

With these positive strides in walking and bicycling, how can we ensure that our streets are safe and inviting for all users?  Minneapolis has a long way to go to match the level of facilities in cities like Portland.  Here are some ideas about how to improve our intersections:

Add high visibility crosswalks:  High visibility crosswalks are useful at difficult crossings to draw attention to pedestrian space.  San Francisco is experimenting with an inexpensive version of this, using high-visibility paint, which can be seen here and here.

Add corner curb extensions:  Curb extensions are bump-outs of the sidewalk which typically extend almost the width of a parking lane, or 6-7 feet.  They allow pedestrians to wait for a green light in a more visible location and shorten the distance that pedestrians have to cross.  Permanent curb extensions were recently incorporated into Lake Street in Uptown, and a temporary solution was used on Snelling and Summit Avenue in Saint Paul.  More information on curb extensions can be found from the Portland Department of Transportation.

Add bicycle boxes:   Bicycle boxes are colored, striped areas at intersections that stop cars several feet back, providing space for bicyclists to wait in front of cars at intersections.  At red lights, this provides dramatically more visibility for cyclists by placing them directly in front of drivers.  Again, here’s more information from Portland.

Add colored pavement:  Adding high-visibility color to bicycle lanes increases their visibility, especially at intersections and other high-conflict areas.  This is seen in the Portland link above, or on the road in the Presidio in San Francisco.

 Comments and more ideas are welcome in the comments area below.