Diagonal/Scrambled Crosswalks

[Neo 199]

Apparently in the 1950's, LA experimented with what is called "scrambled crosswalks" that stop traffic in all directions so that pedestrians and cyclists can cross the street in the regular fashion (crossing one street) or by going diagonally to cross two streets at a time.

I'm not sure if I'm keen on the idea since it does interfere with efficient traffic flow, but it is certainly faster for pedestrians in some cases. I would much rather do this than have to wait through two crosswalk signals. Any thoughts?

[GRDadof3 3531]

I think they've had these in Denver for a long time, maybe dating back to the 80's when I was a kid. They work great, and you don't have to worry about being hit by left and right turn drivers. And how many times in a car have you had to wait for pedestrians to get out of your way to make a turn, especially in busy downtown pedestrian areas.

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2008/11/di...pedestrians.php

[mgman 0]

I think they've had these in Denver for a long time, maybe dating back to the 80's when I was a kid. They work great, and you don't have to worry about being hit by left and right turn drivers. And how many times in a car have you had to wait for pedestrians to get out of your way to make a turn, especially in busy downtown pedestrian areas.

[Recchia 0]

These are actually built into most signalized intersections, both old and new. Most signal permits I've seen have a separate pedestrian phase that gives a red light to all vehicle approaches. You have to actually press the ped button though, and generally the crosswalks are not diagonal so nobody knows they could make that movement if they wanted to.

[GRDadof3 3531]

These are actually built into most signalized intersections, both old and new. Most signal permits I've seen have a separate pedestrian phase that gives a red light to all vehicle approaches. You have to actually press the ped button though, and generally the crosswalks are not diagonal so nobody knows they could make that movement if they wanted to.

[wolverine 0]

Here in Ann Arbor, pushing the button will activate all red lights at some intersections, such as confusing intersection near my apartment where there's a lot of people crossing a confusing intersection. Most of these are only located though where lights are automated. A couple cities are starting to switch over to an automated traffic from a pre-programmed signal system, but Ann Arbor is really the only city in Michigan extensively using it.

I'm surprised many other cities haven't switched over, and nothing is more annoying than sitting at a red light when absolutely no one else is around, or not receiving any light response when you are trying to cross a busy street.

At night, if a car approaches an intersection, the light will go green so that they don't have to stop, but will immediately turn red after they pass, allowing the busier street a green light at all times. It's kind of weird to watch if you are far behind someone. The light will only be green for about 3 seconds with barely a yellow light. As for the pedestrian, pushing the button on these particular traffic standards will almost immediately change all lights to red, allowing only the pedestrian to move through the intersection.

[skirby 90]

In the 1950's Little Rock used these type of crosswalks. They were called Denver crosswalks.

Capitol and Main.

[CityLyfe 0]

they still have this in LA and especially in pasadena. almost every cross walk has a diagonal cross walk but i dont think it take a toll on traffic flow much. since the lights stay green longer, the flow of traffic normally stays the same

[dpbaker 1]

I'm not sure if I'm keen on the idea since it does interfere with efficient traffic flow, but it is certainly faster for pedestrians in some cases. I would much rather do this than have to wait through two crosswalk signals.

Any thoughts?

[RON-E 0]

the ones i have seen are very well managed, i.e. la new york, i havent seen them anywhere else personally in the us... i know there are many, those are just the ones i have seen

[orulz 381]

They're talking about putting one of these in in Chapel Hill, NC.

On a related note, here is the busiest crosswalk in the world which happens to be a scramble crossing. It's in front of Shibuya Station in Tokyo.

[Spartan 1330]

These only work for intersections where there is a need to cross diagonally. All intersections have an "all red" phase, but its usually very short, or at least not long enough for pedestrians to cross diagonally. Scramble zones have to be specially designed and marked so that everyone will know what is going on.