Right on red

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5 Comments

  1. Terri

     /  September 9, 2019

    About 6 years ago, I was walking back to my office on W. Franklin from downtown when a van turned right from Columbia onto Franklin, broadsiding a young woman on a bicycle (who was going straight through the intersection). I held her hand as she layed splayed in the center of the intersection, unconscious. Other people made sure cars stopped and others worked on her medically until the ambulance arrived. Thankfully, she lived.

    George Cianciolo submitted a petition the next week I think to ban right on red in the downtown area where there are more pedestrians and bicyclists than other places in town. The staff studied the request and then came back and said it was unnecessary.

    How many times does a problem need to be studied before it gets solved? When do we start preventing the risk to human lives over the frustration of drivers who must stop for an additional 2 minutes of their precious time?

  2. Plurimus

     /  September 9, 2019

    I think the problem is larger than simply banning right on red, it may necessitate retiming of lights and cause backups elsewhere, for example driveway exits. Not saying this is bad, but pointing out that traffic flow is a complex problem with unintended and far reaching consequences; not as simple as an edict, no matter how emotional the argument. I also wonder if this problem has a seasonal solution, perhaps banning right on red only when the university is in session, but that also adds additional complexity and may not be workable or require upgrades to smarter traffic signals.

  3. Ray Lovinggood

     /  September 9, 2019

    Ban the “Right on Red.”
    Drivers routinely block the crosswalk, if they stop at all, and then look only to the left. They never look right to see if there are people either about to enter the crosswalk, or have entered the crosswalk. Or, are looking for ways to get over or around the car that is blocking the crosswalk.

    There is no need to “balance” the needs of the drivers. They are wrapped in 1.5 – 2.5 tons of steel. Pedestrians have just skin and bone.

  4. Deborah Fulghieri

     /  September 9, 2019

    Maybe a street-light linked “No Right On Red!” sign next to the traffic light would help. Not only are there many people walking around downtown, but the lanes are a little narrower than standard on these old roads. That narrowness causes pedestrians to walk closer to drivers than in a subdivision.
    I imagine such lights could be remotely controlled, so that right-on-red could be suspended near campus during big games, for example,

  5. Adam Selene

     /  September 10, 2019

    ” Pedestrians always have right-of-way, even when they are not in a marked crosswalk. Even when pedestrians wander, distracted, into the street, the onus is always on the driver to stop.” Really?

    A refresher for all interested persons:

    https://transportation.ncsu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/wt-ped-laws.pdf

    Specifically GS 20-174 (a – e)

    In driver’s ed we learned to be courteous, look out for kids, livestock, illegal unleashed animals and the enfeebled, but the general idea came down to “crosswalks and kill zones”. At present, jaywalkers are afforded no special rights by law and are subject to whatever happens while in violation. I don’t drive on the sidewalk, I expect able-bodied, sentient pedestrians to stay off the streets except where allowed. As a former cyclist, I was taught to dismount at crossWALKS and walk my bike to the other side of the street before getting back on and resuming my ride. On sideWALKS, I always walked my bike. Common sense and courtesy. Period.