Bicycle and Pedestrian Safety Commission

Bicycle and Pedestrian Safety Commission

Time

• 3/20/2023 5:30-7:00pm

The point of the meeting

• Reporting the issues of walking, bicycling, and running events in a safe manner.
• Developing safety programs for pedestrians, bicyclists, and runners (7-Line Project and All-Way Stop Control Installation)

Who was at the meeting

• Demographic
  • Bicycle and Pedestrian Safety Commission from Planning and Transportation Department in Bloomington
• Attendance size
  • Four commissioners were in person
  • Twenty-two participants were on the Zoom

    

Where the meeting took place

• City Hall in Council Chambers

What topics where discussed

7-Line Project Update and All-Way Stop Control Installation

• Location
  • 7th Street
• Description
  • At the beginning, the commissioner discussed the purpose and direction of the 7-Line Project: to make bike lanes in Bloomington safer and more accessible to cyclists. The government removed all four-way stops along 7th Street as well as some on-street parking. He presented data on bicycle traffic on 7th Street. The data showed that on 7th Street adjacent to the Indiana University campus where the two-way protected bicycle lane replaced standard bicycle lanes, bicycle/scooter use has increased 26%. Additionally, a January 2019  peak period (7-9AM and 4-6PM) traffic count was compared with a February 2023 traffic count between Dunn Street and Grant Street. The data shows that bicycle/scooter use in this area of the corridor increased 259%.

 

• • However, data also showed that there were a trend of increased car crashes at the intersections where all-way stop control was removed. Most of the crashes were a result of drivers on the side street failing to yield to drivers on 7th Street and  they mistakenly thought the intersection had all-way stop control. In 2022, there were two reported crashes involving drivers failing to yield to users of the protected bicycle lane (one scooter at Dunn Street and one bicycle at Washington Street) and one reported crash involving a scooter failing to yield to a driver (southbound scooter on Morton Street). The commissioner concluded with the proposal to reinstall a four-way stop at the intersection of 7th Street.

 

• • The commissioner showed the metrics which show each intersection’s need for reinstatement, and he thought it is most needed at the Dunn St intersection.

• • This meeting had two proposals:
    • Reinstalling four-way stop at 7th and Dunn -> passed
    • Reinstalling all of the four-way stops along 7th Street -> didn’t pass

• My Reflection
  • I think that this meeting was very effective and well-organized. However, I do believe that there is a lot more to discuss, such as traffic congestion and intersection on 10th Street.

Smart city technology opportunities

The meeting indicates that the government wants to provide a safety environment for pedestrian and cyclists while also improve the traffic congestion on the 7th Street. There are many smart city technologies can be utilized to address problems in this meeting. For example, “smart traffic light” can be a good opportunity to solve this problem. The researchers at the University of Texas at San Antonio showed a project to reduce collisions at intersections using smart traffic lights. They used data from sensors, cameras, GPS, and vehicles to detect patterns of traffic and the volume of vehicles, pedestrians and bicyclists approaching an intersection. By dynamically responding to real-time conditions, smart traffic lights can help move traffic through the city more efficiently to reduce commute times, reduce congestion, and improve safety for drivers, pedestrians and bicyclists.

Smart traffic lights can sense the presence of pedestrians and bicyclists, alerting drivers to their presence and stopping traffic to allow time to cross an intersection. Instead of installing four-way stops on 7th Street, I think that it can be a good reference to address the issues that discussed in the meeting.

 

 

Agenda from the meeting

Packets: https://bloomington.in.gov/boards/bicycle-pedestrian-safety/meetings/2023

Reference

How Do Smart Traffic Lights Work? https://intellias.com/smart-traffic-signals/ 

Smart Traffic Signals https://www.cmu.edu/homepage/computing/2012/fall/smart-traffic-signals.shtml