3745 replies to this topic

[amor de cosmos]

using chalk & leaves



http://www.cbc.ca/ne...eaves-1.4427663

[sebberry]

Today the city workers installed one of those stupid LED street lamps outside my place. 

 

It's not blinding, but markedly more irritating than the light it replaced, both in lumens and temperature. 

 

 

While I'm at it, the new LED street lights on McKenzie heading up the hill from Borden were terrible in the fog yesterday.  Whoever chose 3 and 4,000k street lamps needs to be made to stand under and stare at them for eternity.

[LJ]

The highway overhead lamps in the Phoenix area are LED's and cool white but they put glass filters on them that turns them a pleasant warm yellowish colour.

[sebberry]

Driving around tonight in the rain,  I can doubly confirm that the new lights are **** in almost every way imaginable. 

[Mike K.]

But they’ve reduced light pollution, Sebberry. And that’s what’s at stake here, seeing the night sky.

[Cats4Hire]

Just curious but how long have they been using these new lights? A street light burnt out on my street about a month (maybe 2 but I know it was in the fall) and the light from the replacement doesn't look any different than the old one or any others on the street. Physically it is flat compared to the "bubble" of the others though. I'm in Saanich if that makes any difference. 

[Citified.ca]

Jacklin Road will close to traffic from February 1st through late May or early June between Jenkins Avenue and the Galloping Goose Regional Trail crossing.

 

The nearly completed Division Avenue will serve as a detour around Jacklin Road once it closes to through-traffic next February between Jenkins Avenue and the School District 62 head office/Galloping Goose Regional Trail. Jacklin Road will close for a period of four months as crews upgrade utilities and improve the streetscape.

 

West Shore road closure: 400 metres of Langford's Jacklin Road to close for upgrades

https://victoria.cit...belmont-market/

[Kach]

I am not sure where the appropriate forum is for this topic, so I will add it here.

 

And first I want to say that I know everyone in the city, and specifically her family, and those folks who witnessed and helped Leila yesterday morning in the crosswalk at Ash and Torquay are praying for her and urging her to fight very hard for her life.  

 

I live in Gordon Head, and go through this intersection almost daily.  And I know a number of folks on this forum also either live in, or have history with Gordon Head, and likely this intersection.

 

The accident yesterday got the wife and I chatting about what or if something needs to be done at this intersection.  I have a lot of thoughts about it, but am wondering what this forum thinks, as I know topics such as crosswalks, road infrastructure, and local road speeds are discussed here quite often.

 

Again, please pray for Leila.  

 

Full disclosure, I did witness this accident, and is likely why Leila and this topic is at the top of my mind right now.

[VicHockeyFan]

Wow.  Can we assume she was actually walking to a bus stop, then to go to Arbutus?  That's a long walk from there.

 

Anyway, I think it's well-marked, and the stretch of Ash is straight there.  I don't think a 4-way stop is a good idea.

Edited by VicHockeyFan, 21 December 2017 - 09:31 AM.

[Bingo]

Crosswalks, distracted driving, speed limits, and students on their way to school. Don't ignore them!

[Kach]

Wow.  Can we assume she was actually walking to a bus stop, then to go to Arbutus?  That's a long walk from there.

 

She was crossing the road to a neighbour's house, who drives them to Arbutus...as I understand it.

[VicHockeyFan]

She was crossing the road to a neighbour's house, who drives them to Arbutus...as I understand it.

 

I see.  

 

Ya, I know the intersection quite well.  It's pretty darned marked and lighted.  But mistakes can happen, on the part of both drivers and pedestrians.

[nagel]

A 4 way stop or a beg button crossing with flashing lights would be better than what's there.  

 

Also I think if you hid a kid, or any pedestrian really, you should lose your license for at least a year.  There really is no excuse, unless someone deliberately jumps on your car.  It's a choice you have to make as a driver, whether to actively look out for other road users or zone out/be distracted by phones and dashboards.  I think this lack of concern/care is the main reason why we have 44,000+ road deaths per year in North America.

[nerka]

My thoughts to the family.

 

Cross walks on their own are not a very effective safety measure. There is mixed literature whether they increase or decrease pedestrian safety. 

 

Possibly effective interventions at this location would be a four way stop, a roundabout, or a signal.

 

Possibly a raised crosswalk. Basically any measure that (a) forces drivers to slow down or (b) forces them to pay attention.

[VicHockeyFan]

A 4 way stop or a beg button crossing with flashing lights would be better than what's there.  

 

Also I think if you hid a kid, or any pedestrian really, you should lose your license for at least a year.  There really is no excuse, unless someone deliberately jumps on your car.  It's a choice you have to make as a driver, whether to actively look out for other road users or zone out/be distracted by phones and dashboards.  I think this lack of concern/care is the main reason why we have 44,000+ road deaths per year in North America.

 

Well, slow down a bit here.  A driver hit me when I was about 8 years old, ran me over, broke my leg and foot in 7 places.  I knew then and still do today, that it was 100% my fault.  

[rjag]

First off, thats a terrible tragedy for that little girl and her family. I can only hope she will recover from this.

 

I used to live on Torquay in the 80's and had to exit left onto Ash. Its quite blind from the side street perspective but the sitelines on Ash in both directions are pretty good. (I drove that road to Keating both ways for over 25 years)

 

The sitelines from both directions on Ash at 100metres are pretty good and show the whole sidewalk as well as the crosswalk. 

 

https://www.google.c...12!8i6656?hl=en

 

and this angle is the direction the car was driving, you can see its quite visible

https://www.google.c...12!8i6656?hl=en

 

As noted on the newscast last night there have been no record of any pedestrian incidents there for the last 10 years. Its not a heavily used crosswalk but could be better lit with a beg button. 

 

Police have already said speed and alcohol/drugs were not a factor. I would wait for the final report but would hazard that driver distraction was a major factor here. The little girl appears to have been hit on the left front of the vehicle so combined with the sitelines and her positioning I bet that will be the result. The only other contributing factor was light and weather conditions. 

[VicHockeyFan]

Leaving this incident aside, it's unsafe to enter any crosswalk until you are sure the cars coming in all directions are aware of you, and are slowing down.

 

I do not expect a grade 6er to be perfect at this at all. 

Edited by VicHockeyFan, 21 December 2017 - 10:25 AM.

[nerka]

Also I think if you hid a kid, or any pedestrian really, you should lose your license for at least a year.  There really is no excuse, unless someone deliberately jumps on your car.  It's a choice you have to make as a driver, whether to actively look out for other road users or zone out/be distracted by phones and dashboards. 

I'd partially agree.  If a driver hits a pedestrian at a marked or unmarked crosswalk there should be some pretty serious consequences. This driver will likely get a small fine for failing to yield to pedestrian and possibly a slightly larger fine for driving without due care. Basically a slap on the wrist.

 

There should be some pretty onerous penalties if you injure someone at a crosswalk including perhaps an automatic licence suspension.

 

I don't think I'd support quite as draconian penalties away from crosswalks as those are more likely to be cases that a driver could not reasonably avoid

[rjag]

 

Also I think if you hid a kid, or any pedestrian really, you should lose your license for at least a year.  There really is no excuse, unless someone deliberately jumps on your car.  It's a choice you have to make as a driver, whether to actively look out for other road users or zone out/be distracted by phones and dashboards.  I think this lack of concern/care is the main reason why we have 44,000+ road deaths per year in North America.

 

Real life example wrong with this, in the early 1990's one of my couriers hit a kid in a crosswalk on Burnside under the TCH. Fortunately the kid wasnt hurt, just a few bruises and a wrecked bike. Cops found the kid at fault along with Saanich.

 

https://www.google.c...2!8i6656?hl=en 

 

If you will look on the right of the picture you see the trail coming downhill to the crosswalk, it was around May and Saanich hadnt been cutting the fresh grass and the path sitelines were obscured. The kid came flying down the path and straight out onto the road without looking. He was racing his friend. Cops blasted Saanich for allowing the grass to grow higher than the railing.

 

End result was trauma counseling for my courier and a very lucky kid.

[nagel]

That's my hood BTW.  Sorry for implying in all cases, but I think there would be an onus for the driver to show there were mitigating factors, such as brutal sightlines like you described, and the horror of someone biking in a crosswalk.  Although at that particular spot I believe it would now be legal to bike across that sidewalk as it links the Goose and the Colquitz trails.  Still shouldn't do it without stopping though.