Discussing countdown timers on Linkedin

Linkedin is a professional network on the Internet with more than 187 million members in over 200 countries and territories. It is like the Facebook of professionals. One interesting aspect of Linkedin is the groups which are a forum that some very interesting discussions take place. It is also a valuable source of information. I posted my previous blog entry on countdown timers at pedestrian traffic signals on Traffic Engineer and Transportation Planner Network group with a question whether this is an idea worth investing on or should we look for a totally different approach when it comes to pedestrian traffic in busy CBD intersections. I was very pleased to see that this topic sparkled a very interesting conversation. Traffic and transport professionals from around the world posted their comments on the issue. Some of them shared links to study reports on countdown timers’ trials on different countries. The majority of the responses were in favour of installing such devices on traffic lights. Here are some of the comments:

Ray Guarino, Transportation Planner at Old Colony Planning Council, Brockton, Massachusetts: “Yes, they are worth the investment. In busy urban areas these countdown timers work great. If you want to see them in action at busy intersections, and you are the USA, go to the corner of Boylston and Tremont in Boston, Massachusetts.
                                                                                                                
Jim Lizzi, Senior Transportation Engineer at City of Irvine, Orange County, California: “I support the use of countdown timers simply because the information transmitted to pedestrians is of value.” and “With countdown timers, at least pedestrians know for sure when they should definitely NOT start crossing. The bottom line for me is that safety--of all kinds--is enhanced through understanding.”

Jakob Helmboldt, Pedestrian, Bicycle & Trails Coordinator at City of Richmond, Virginia: “In the US countdowns will soon be mandatory (end of 2013 is the current compliance date). Countdowns do have benefits, and FHWA wouldn't be requiring their use if the experimental use showed significant impaired safety. More information is always better than less when it can be conveyed with ease which is the case with a countdown signal. That said, there are always negative externalities possible, but on balance they are an improvement.”

Jeff McMullen, Chief Engineering Technician ITS/TOC at City of Fresno, California: “I agree that the countdown timers are great for pedestrians however, although I have no data to back this up other than observation, motorists are using the countdown timers also. When they see that the time is about to expire they (the aggressive drivers) tend to speed up to ensure they can make it through the signal.”  

Chuck Weaver, Senior Designer at Brudis & Associates, Baltimore, Maryland: “I've been designing intersection in MD for years....we are upgrading to APS/CPS almost everywhere”

Tony Earl, Head of Network Performance at Transport for London, Redhill, United Kingdom: “I am currently rolling out Pedestrian Countdown at Traffic Signals (PCaTS) to 200 signals with all red to traffic Pedestrian Stages in London following a study undertaken on behalf of Transport for London by TRL. This is now approved for use in the whole of England. You may find the study report of interest.”

Martin Huang, Traffic Engineer at Tauranga City Council, New Zealand: “We have also installed some countdown timers at one of our signalised intersections in our city. From my observations and previous research undertaken in New Zealand, it appears that the benefits from the device are more qualitative than quantitative. About 90% of the interviewees are positive about the installation while only several percentages of crash and compliance rate have changed. To me personally, I see it as enabling to provide clear messages for pedestrians to make an informed decision. Teenagers can dash across the road with less than 10 seconds but the elderly would be safely to wait for next cycle even if it is 15+ seconds left.” and “Just for your information, there are 2 research reports about trials of countdown timers application in Auckland and Wellington and their links are shown below.
http://www.nzta.govt.nz/resources/research/reports/428/
http://www.ipenz.org.nz/ipenztg/papers/2007/C4a_HooperVencatTse.pdf

Pravin Dayaram, Director at Traffic and Transportation Engineers Ltd, New Zealand: “n Auckland, the countdown timers seem to have been implemented only at (or in conjunction with the change to) what we term locally as 'Barnes Dances' (all traffic stopped pedestrian movements cross at the same time and named after the developer). My observations indicate that there is significantly less non-compliance (crossing during the short flashing-red man phase)…”

 District Department of Transportation Columbia

Glenn Cole, Manager, Technical Information Programs at Transportation Association of Canada, Ottawa, Canada: “The Transportation Association of Canada (Traffic Operation and Management Standing Committee) put together a small study: Informational Report on Pedestrian Countdown Signals. It's available on line at
http://wiki.tac-atc.ca/twiki/pub/ChiefEngineers/PedestrianCountdown/Project_253_-_Optional_Use_of_Pedestrian_Countdown_Timers.PDF

The story Rob Klug, Traffic Signal Engineer at Clark County Public Works Portland, Oregon shared with the group was very interesting: “My favorite citizen interaction was with an elderly person who approached me at an intersection we just installed the countdown timers at, where I was working on the cabinet. She told me that she really appreciated all the extra time that she was given by these new countdown heads. She never got across the street within the flashing don't walk, but all the extra time we gave her with the new heads made it so that she could get across the street with 4 or 5 seconds to spare. I explained that we did not change any settings on the control equipment, but she was probably adjusting her walk speed based on the time she saw was left on the countdown.  She crossed her arms, and said in a very stern voice "I know you changed the timing. I never was able to cross within the time, now I can". I told her the only thing that made sense. "You are welcome", and went back to work.”

Image from 7 News video

We are living in a new era of professional and scientific communication and dialogue. The duty of mobility practitioners is to make an effort to be part of this new world, use the available means in a responsible way and share knowledge and experience.

Olympic Games traffic

I am watching the Olympic Games 2012  opening ceremony and as always my mind goes to transport and traffic. 

The Games being such a huge event, involving thousands of participating athletes, coaches and spectators are such a great challenge for the transportation planners and traffic engineers of each hosting city. 

Even in the hosting city selection procedure, transport and traffic is the second most important aspect of the candidate cities’ proposal after venues. Cities are struggling to persuade the “immortals” that they can manage traffic during the Olympic games in a way that not only will be effective but also sustainable. The games provide the opportunity for the cities to build new transportation system like the Athens Metro and tram. 

But even big transport infrastructure projects like public transportation systems and construction of new motorways and arterials are not enough to ensure that athletes would not need two or three hours of travel to get to their Olympic venue. Transport planning, traffic management and mobility management plays a big role in this task. After all, transportation network capacity is not designed to support all this additional demand for travel. 

One of the traffic management measures used, is sending a significant percentage of the Olympic city’s residents away from the city or having them stay at home. Usually this is achieved by giving civil servants mandatory leave and generally by making it so much more difficult for people to travel to their usual every day destination, so they will prefer to go on holidays or stay home. Again Athens was an example for this with so many Athenians spending their days during the Olympic Games in the islands.

The objective is to enable athletes and officials to get to their events on time. This is accomplished by installing Olympic lanes. Roads or traffic lanes reserved for accredited Games vehicles – athletes, officials and of course sponsors – as well as emergency vehicles. In London there are 30 miles of Olympic Lanes installed mainly on some of the city’s main arterial roads, marked by white Olympic rings painted on to the road. 

No one else is allowed in these lanes, not even black taxis or bicycles and this raises discomfort, protests and even extreme police actions that don't exactly promote the Olympic spirit.  

Trying to achieve optimum traffic management is not an easy task as some of London’s biggest traffic engineering gaffes show. 

Olympic Games have blown out of proportion during the last decades thanks to the commercialization spirit. The sponsors and the often greedy national Olympic committees push to include more sports and more athletes to the Olympic Games and finally cities that host the games do not benefit from them overall.At least it seems that they benefit from some improvement to their transport systems and the added experience in mobility management.