Although not a "late-breaking news" article, it's worth reading and sharing with others.  KJP

__________________

 

http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050626/LIVING/50721004/-1/AUTO

 

THE COST OF CARS

Driving is more expensive than most realize

 

Published: Sunday, June 26, 2005

Tim Johnson, Free Press Staff Writer

PART 3 OF A 4-PART SERIES

 

Free parking can cost more than you might think. Suppose you want to buy a pair of shoes at University Mall, which offers more than 3,100 spaces where you can park your car without feeding a meter or paying a parking fee.

 

Somebody pays for you to park there, though. So-called free parking -- provided by suburban shopping centers and employers -- is one of the big, hidden subsidies of car use in Vermont and across the country. It's hidden because it's a cost associated with cars that escapes most people's notice.

 

Cars impose other costs that drivers don't pay directly. What about the costs of building, maintaining and policing all the roads and highways that accommodate all the cars and trucks? Drivers don't pay the full share of those costs.

 

..........

With the many threads about red light cameras and bad intersections, etc... this article from U-Cal Berkley caught my eye.

 

Many Disciplines Team Together for Intersection Safety

 

The sedan pulls up to a red light in Richmond, CA, near the offices and experimental facilities  of the UC Berkeley Institute of Transportation Studies' Partners for Advanced Transit and Highways (PATH) program, and the driver waits for a green light in order to make a left turn. Because there is no arrow, the maneuver will be solely up to the driver.

 

This is among the most dangerous situations on the road: roughly 25 percent of all crashes happen at intersections and another 20 percent are "intersection-related." Crashes are twice as likely to occur at intersections where there is a signal compared to those with no controls (no signs nor signals) at all.

 

Full story at:

 

http://www.its.berkeley.edu/newsbits/intersectionsupport.html

Wow, that's a lot of work they're doing.  I might have just suggested getting drivers to pay better attention. :wink:

 

By the way, this line, on which the thread title is based...

Crashes are twice as likely to occur at intersections where there is a signal compared to those with no controls (no signs nor signals) at all.

I'm not sure why they bothered to say that.  It's not at all a fair comparison, as no unsigned intersection is going to be anything but a very small one, carrying nothing close to the traffic volume of the big intersections where all the accidents occur.  By the way, in Ohio I've never seen an intersection with no signal or sign at all, though I understand they are fairly common in some places.  Do such intersections exist in Ohio?

A T-intersection in my neighborhood averaged 6 - 8 crashes per month caused by people running a stoplight. Traffic engineering decided it would be safer without the light, and they removed the light and put a stop sign on the intersecting street.

 

The next month, there were 27 crashes caused by people ignoring the stop sign.

 

They finally figured out that the best solution was to reinstall the light and start ticketing people who ran it. Now, the intersection is down to 1 or 2 crashes per month.

Another problem is just plain poor intersection design.  Unfortunately, some local and county highway departments believe a stop sign or lights solves the problem.  But I have seen numerous intersections that have line-of-sight problems, visibility problems due to either trees or buildings. 

 

Yet another solution where stoplights have been a problem is something ODOT uses on many state roads: flashing warning lights in advance of the intersection that activate when the light is about to change from gree to red.  I can't say I've seen this used on city streets.

I remember reading somewhere that ODOT was cracking down on municipalities to take down signals that were no longer or never up to their usage "standards" sighting the reason the article stated. Pigboy makes a good point, but so does ODOT if the intersections arn't busy enought to call for a stoplight.

 

Noozer makes a good point, but I don't know what he is getting at. In cases where on-street parking or buildings are blocking sight lines, I would think signals would be a logical installation if the traffic constitutes it. As far as local engineers only finding solutions with signs or signals, I think a lot of the reason we see them going up is because of growing traffic demands rather coming from nearby subdivisions or a new Wal-mart.

Pigboy makes a good point, but so does ODOT if the intersections arn't busy enought to call for a stoplight.

Wait, I made a point?  I'm not quite sure what you're referring to.  I was just questioning the relevancy of the line I quoted within the article because it seemed pretty intuitive given the nature of uncontrolled intersections.

^Yes, I called that a point. I hadn't thought of it that way. My "but" isn't meant to contrast.

Oh, gotcha. :wink:

inkaelin.... the community you refer to is a little burg called Dunkirk, north of Kenton.  They went round-about with ODOT over ODOT's removal of the town's one and only traffic light.

Another problem is just plain poor intersection design.  Unfortunately, some local and county highway departments believe a stop sign or lights solves the problem.  But I have seen numerous intersections that have line-of-sight problems, visibility problems due to either trees or buildings. 

 

Yet another solution where stoplights have been a problem is something ODOT uses on many state roads: flashing warning lights in advance of the intersection that activate when the light is about to change from gree to red.  I can't say I've seen this used on city streets.

 

Mr. Sparkle can chime in, but I believe ODOT is doing away with those flashing warning lights for intersections.  Reason; people are speeding up and trying to beat the light. Those warning signs were intended for "rural areas" anyways.  They would look fairly garish along N High St. if you'd ask me.

 

On the flip side, we have one instance (that I'm aware of) down here in Baton Rouge (proper) where there is smaller sign, with flashing lights, warning about traffic light changing.  Not that it is of much use during rush hour around here anymore.

(I think I've told this story before, but since it fits the topic of this thread...)

Whenever someone starts a debate about traffic lights being a cause of accidents at intersections, I'm reminded of an exchange I saw between a parent and an ODOT official during a public forum concerning the placement of a traffic light at US 23 and Coover Rd, north of Delaware (for Buckeye Valley HS) back in the early 90s.

 

ODOT speaker: Stats show that placing a traffic light at an intersection increases the likelyhood of an accident.

BV parent: So why does Lewis Center (Rd) have a traffic light @ US 23? <crowd erupts in support of parent>

 

sidenote 1: Lewis Center Rd is where Olentangy HS is located (south of Delaware)

 

sidenote 2: There has been a traffic light @ US 23-Coover Rd since 1999, after a new middle school, for Buckeye Valley, was completed next to the existing HS.  It is generally believed that the uptick in traffic due to the consoldation in traffic led to ODOT "improving" this intersection.

 

Then again, I've never understood why there has been a traffic light along US 23 @ the entrance to Delaware State Park (further north of Coover Rd and Delaware). I've rarely seen much traffic coming and going from there.

2 of the more tricky road gags to figure out in Cleveland include..

 

A resident of Linndale, wishing to go downtown via I-71 must do the following to get there: Go west on I-71 South and then get off at the West 130th St. Exit and go east on I-71 North. Kinda tricky due to I-71's layout and the poor setup on the on/off-ramps.

 

Another weird one that confuses a LOT of people. Someone travelling on I-480 East following the Broadway on-ramp is given 3 lanes to decide what to do in a matter of 1 mile.. their options are:

 

1. Continue on I-271 North Express

2. Continue on I-271 North Local / 422 West (1 HIGHWAY, 2 NAMES)

3. Continue on I-271 South / I-480 East (1 HIGHWAY, 2 NAMES)

4. Continue on 422 East

5. Exit at Warrensville Road South

6. Exit at Warrensville Road North

7. Exit at Northfield Road

8. Exit at Miles Road

 

8 choices in a VERY SHORT DISTANCE.

 

 

I was bored and thought it'd be funny to point out the 2 that confuse my friends most. Not me though.. I'm an ODOT graduate!  :wink:

Sounds as bad as...

 

2 of the more tricky road gags to figure out in Cleveland include..

 

A resident of Linndale, wishing to go downtown via I-71 must do the following to get there:

 

Wait, are you implying that a person could actually live in Linndale?  Isn't it just a couple hundred yards of I-71?  Do they live in the median?  :-)

 

Actually, now that I look, Linndale does have all of 95 residents [1].  It also took the state of Ohio to court to secure it's right to pull people over on 71 [2].

 

This is a bit of a rant, but has anyone else ever looked at a map of Cuyahoga County and just wondered how places like Linndale and North Randall came to be?  I don't really have an axe to grind over the Linndale speed trap thing, since I drive like a grandma, but wouldn't it cost less to have fewer micro-municipalities?  I imagine it leads to some needless duplication of services. 

 

 

[1]http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/SAFFPopulation?_event=Search&_name=linndale&_state=04000US39&_county=linndale&_cityTown=linndale&_zip=&_sse=on&_lang=en&pctxt=fph

[2]http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?court=oh&vol=972493&invol=1.

 

 

 

I hate linndale, and their BS cop trap. Its one of those tiny towns that were like oops we forgot to annex this tiny bit of land, aw crap they became a city and now we cant do anything about them. Becaue of that linndale case, waite hill does the same thing on 90 in lake county. Its literaly a city of just a bunch of millionaires ex-urban homes and farmland, so there really isnt much crime, so they send their cops out to ticket people. I also got a axe to grind with bratenhal for the same types of reasons

Sounds as bad as...

 

I'm gettin dizzy just lookin at that sign.

I only mentioned my scenario about Linndale because the name is an eye popper  :lol:. I don't speed thru Linndale and haven't been ticketed so I am not complaining, YET.. but I do think the concept of their speedtrap is bad. If you are travelling on I-71 in either direction, you will see a 'Linndale Corp. Limit' sign and then 2 seconds later, you are already out of the city and entering 'Cleveland Corp. Limit' to the west and 'Brooklyn Corp. Limit.' to the east (while travelling South or North on I-71.. TRICKY TRICKY, eh?). That entire area is tricky because the freeway is angled at east-west, while the railroads and the Bellaire/W. 117th street bridges are all placed over the freeway at criss-crossed angles. So if you are in the area trying to calculate what portion of the roads are Linndale and which aren't, it can be very tricky trying to figure it out! For reference, the speed trap would be the southbound and northbound lanes of I-71 between Bellaire and W. 117th St. (AKA Memphis Avenue). Here's a map to help you out:

 

<img src="http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y180/bizbizjohn/linndale.jpg" alt="Image hosted by Photobucket.com">

Here is the Waite Hill speed trap:

 

<img src="http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y180/bizbizjohn/waitehill2.jpg" alt="Image hosted by Photobucket.com">

I have heard how bad the speed trap there is, but I wonder where do the cops hide at?

I only travel that route primarily when I am going to school in Cincinnati, or home on the East side and everytime I go through there I always see the Lindale PD giving someone a ticket, but never see them sitting in their cars hiding. Where do they hide???

I"ve seen lindale cops just sit under the bridges, its just from people not paying attention.

Or possibly like lakewood cops, they hide a cop on top of the bridge and send another car to catch you.

The backwards Southern state I live in has a speed trap law. If any town receives over a certain percentage of its income from traffic tickets, they lose the right to patrol the highway. In an adjoining state, a city must have three freeway exits in order to patrol the interstate.

 

It seems to me that Linndale was originally a settlement for African American railroad workers. In the 60s, it was rare to see Black people on the West Side, so I suspect racism may have had something to do with it not being annexed by Cleveland or Brooklyn.

 

Just a guess ...

jeez, i knew lindale was small, but i had no clue, it was that small.......

I am relatively new at this, but this topic is always interesting to me.  If there is any town or area in Ohio that you think would need a bypass for either a state route or an United States route, post it!

 

 

 

I for one, would like to see a US 20 Bypass around the city of Bellevue (which sits at the convergence of Huron, Sandusky, Seneca, and Erie counties).  This town has recently received upgrades to Main Street (US 20)  to make traffic flow smoother, yet I feel the situation is in need of action.

I can't think of towns where I especially want to see a bypass, but I can think of one where I'm surprised there isn't a bypass.

 

Take a look at the Google map of Plain City.  U.S. 42 goes right into town and you have to turn a couple of times to follow it.  But it would be a straight shot to skip right past the town on the west side.  I don't know if citizens and property owners have resisted that or what, but it just seems like something that would have been built by now.

 

It's not really the usual kind of bypass, but it's what came to mind.

^Same deal with Mansfield...I bring 13 south from Norwalk every time I'm coming home from visiting my grandparents, and it's pretty crazy to try to follow...

As a general rule, I don't support any bypasses around small towns. You'd have to provide one hell of a convincing argument that the traffic is so bad that the "main street downtown" area will be better off by taking traffic out of it. Too often, however, small town centers end up with vacancies as a result of bypasses where chain-type retailers replace the mom-and-pop stores that had made each small town unique, personable and friendly.

 

If the traffic is so bad that downtown business is suffering (I haven't seen a small town suffer that much traffic!), consider using streets parallel to "main street" for overflow. In Coraopolis Pennsylvania, they took the through traffic out of downtown and built a "bypass" behind the main street businesses where parking was. Then, they added narrow, strategically placed parking lots between some main street businesses and separated the parking lots from main street with decorative fences.

 

Or, consider sticking a two-level parking deck back behind the main street businesses. Add safer bicycle and pedestrian routes into and through downtown. Make it easier to access small town downtowns rather than reroute traffic a mile or two around it. Yeah, that will get rid of traffic downtown. It might also get rid of your downtown.

^I'm definitely with you.  Seems like the same effect the interstates had on small towns - drive state routes instead of interstates, and you see loads of empty storefronts sometimes...I'm surprised that Mansfield hasn't put in a Rt. 13 bypass, but I'm definitely happy about it!

Chardon maybe, its getting so yuppie filled that traffic is becoming a problem going through the square (on 44 and 6). I personaly know what roads to take to get around it, but people not as familiar might not be, directional signs could be good.

I would like a super overpass interchange over Macedonia of Routes 8 and 82 and I271... no exits in Macedonia except for lets say Chipotle and or Qdoba and the Movie Theater no where else just those three specific places, heh.

I can't think of towns where I especially want to see a bypass, but I can think of one where I'm surprised there isn't a bypass.

 

Take a look at the Google map of Plain City.  U.S. 42 goes right into town and you have to turn a couple of times to follow it.  But it would be a straight shot to skip right past the town on the west side.  I don't know if citizens and property owners have resisted that or what, but it just seems like something that would have been built by now.

 

It's not really the usual kind of bypass, but it's what came to mind.

 

I thought I read that ODOT was going to build a "by-pass" of Plain City for US 42 a year or two ago.  Basically they were just going to build a new two lane road that went around Plain City's CBD to the north and west.

I drove though Plain City on my way back to Louisiana and surprised to find the by-pass wasn't built yet  (this would reroute truck traffic out of the CBD, which wasn't designed for 18 wheelers)

^I'm definitely with you.  Seems like the same effect the interstates had on small towns - drive state routes instead of interstates, and you see loads of empty storefronts sometimes...I'm surprised that Mansfield hasn't put in a Rt. 13 bypass, but I'm definitely happy about it!

 

ODOT built a 4 lane spur for Oh 13 from I-71 north to the city limits. (it was once upon a time to have been part of a arterial road from Mansfield to Mt. Vernon to Newark to I-70).  That 4 lane section from I-71 to the Mansfield city limits and the Fredericksburg bypass were the only parts built.

There will be a bypass of Macedonia in the next 5 years.  There is a huge ODOT project to make rt 8 north of Hudson a limited access highway and allow direct flow onto 271 as well.  ODOT did a very good job with this project in planning and design using feeder roads.  They listened to what the county and residents were wishing for.  Here's a link from the Beacon: http://www.ohio.com/mld/ohio/13162574.htm  It will be great to legally go 65 through Boston Heights.  Probably save Summit Co. residents 15-30+ minutes a day driving to Cuyahoga Co.

ooo fun... although Twinsburg Twp Rd. is my primary way of getting to rte 8 currently; that is when I actually need to be on rte 8.  I'm more excited about the wetlands/stream mitigation because Liberty Park is almost literally my back yard.  I've done a lot of hiking back there.

Traffic camera ruling made

 

STEUBENVILLE - The attorney who filed a lawsuit against the city and the traffic camera company Traffipax claims an argument used by the company in a similar case won't work in Jefferson County.

 

On Jan. 20, Traffipax and the city of Girard went to court against a class action lawsuit filed by Daniel Moadus Jr. and his attorney James Denney. Trumbull County Common Pleas Judge John Stuard ruled in favor of the class action, but only partially.

 

Read more at:

http://www.hsconnect.com/news/story/0130202006_new01news013006.asp

Here's an interesting piece from the Cleveland Heights Historical Society about how the eastern suburbs stopped Albert Porter's plans for three freeways from being built in their area. Plans included a 67-acre freeway interchange to the northwest of Shaker Boulevard and Lee Road. By the way, much of the credit goes to Sun Newspapers for killing the freeways....

 

http://www.chuh.net/chhistory/features/freeways.html

 

Go Sun! Yeah, stopping this destructive idea was a major community accomplishment. A freeway running through the Shaker Lakes -- how brilliant. :roll:

Everytime I read about the proposed freeways through the eastern suburbs, it still never ceases to amaze me how stupid of an idea ever got legs to run on.  Let's just be thankful that this idea was able to be shot down.  Major props to the Sun for getting the word out at that time, that would be hideous to have look at all those senseless freeways running through some of Cleveland's best suburbs.

I wish somebody had stopped I- 90 before it flattened West Blvd. and Lorain on the West Side.

^ I saw a picture a while ago of land being cleared for I-90 on the west side.  Almost makes you want to cringe when you see all that was lost.  I wish there would have been more people at that time that had the forsight to see the detrimental effects routing freeways through the heart of urban cores would eventually have.

now we can get to our avon mcmansions a lot faster. thanks al.

holy crap, that plows right through university circle and little italy!  and lakeview cemeter maybe??

This is why im against building any new freeways, expressways, access road, UCBs, etc.!

 

 

I am not sure if this is common knowledge, but I found the following to be very interesting:

 

Shaker Heights was obviously against the eastern highway plan.  Cleveland was for it (with some very strong internal disagreement).  To block the plan, Shaker turned its lakes into a nature preserve and bought land at the terminus of 490 at E.55th.  Through some sort of bargaining agreement, Cleveland dropped the plan and Shaker agreed to extend its school district into the Shaker Square portion of Cleveland. 

 

Is there any book on this subject?  Norm Krumholz has a chapter about it in one of his books. 

I am not sure if this is common knowledge, but I found the following to be very interesting:

 

Shaker Heights was obviously against the eastern highway plan.  Cleveland was for it (with some very strong internal disagreement).  To block the plan, Shaker turned its lakes into a nature preserve and bought land at the terminus of 490 at E.55th.  Through some sort of bargaining agreement, Cleveland dropped the plan and Shaker agreed to extend its school district into the Shaker Square portion of Cleveland. 

 

Is there any book on this subject?  Norm Krumholz has a chapter about it in one of his books. 

 

Based on discussion back in High School, If I'm not mistaken Cleveland Hts. had something to do with this as well.

 

The (Upper portion of) Shaker Lakes (along with a part of the Shaker Lakes Garden Club) physically sit in Cleveland Hts, but are owned or were owned by the city of Cleveland (via Rockefeller).

Also see...

http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php?topic=735.0

ha, two-bit duck pond

Thank you, Al. I hope they buried you under one of your highways.

http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060220/NEWS08/602200310/-1/NEWS

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Article published February 20, 2006

 

Plastic covers, license plate sprays latest tools to thwart red-light photos

Traffic-light cameras spawn related industry

 

By DAVID PATCH

BLADE STAFF WRITER

 

 

With more communities installing traffic cameras to catch drivers who run red lights and speed - Cleveland is among the latest to join Toledo and Northwood - some motorists are taking steps to make their license plates more difficult to read.

 

The most common tactic: installing tinted plastic covers that ostensibly keep plates clean but are dark enough to prevent easy viewing. The covers also are designed to reflect light in ways that make photographing them difficult.

 

But police have a warning for motorists who think they have outfoxed the law.

 

More at link above:

Though it is a local story, it points out (tragically) how we put so much effort and resources into infrastructure that moves motor vehicles, but so little into better and safer ways to move people.

 

No excuse for no sidewalks

Friday, March 17, 2006

ANN FISHER

THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

 

 

In the weeks before her death five years ago, 15-year-old Andrea S. Castorano had predicted that hers would be a short life.

 

May God rest her soul, but you don’t have to be psychic to see that the roadside she was walking along near Briggs High School when she was killed by a car was, and is, a deathtrap.

 

City officials now have a plan for Briggs Road. Sometime this month or next, construction is to begin on storm sewers, and by next fall, sidewalks will go in.

 

Full column at:

http://www.dispatch.com/news-story.php?story=dispatch/2006/03/17/20060317-C1-04.html