A couple of points from our last city council meeting regarding bulb-out corners.
First, I have to say I like the bulb-out corners.
I saw the concept of the bulb-outs in several meetings over the past few years as the plan for downtown revitalization was being developed. Lots of people asked lots of questions about the corners during that phase of the project. Many community volunteers were involved in these meetings, and city officials repeatedly asked (practically begged) for public input into the design.
Like I said, I liked the concept, simply because of the way it looked. The engineers for the project talked about the safety aspects, and explained they were not merely for beautification.
I checked into the idea, and found many studies that touted the benefits of bulb-outs. They are designed to “calm” traffic, forcing the drivers in the area to slow down, pay attention and stay in their lanes. They also increase the safety of each pedestrian crosswalk, because they shorten the curb-to-curb length for anyone crossing the street without reducing the width of any traffic lane.
That made me like them even more.
No one in any of the meetings I attended ever objected to the concept.
During the development of plans, the city council received regular updates about the design. The council approved that design.
The other side of the story : Bulb-outs are expensive to build.
The additional curb and concrete, as well as labor-intensive layout, make the design more expensive than the basic legally-required ramp-cut corner the city could install. We could eliminate the bulb-outs and save lots of money.
So, at the meeting Tuesday evening, the bulb-outs were once again up for discussion.
Two wheelchair-bound residents spoke to council about the safety issue and said the bulb-outs were very desirable from their point of view. They both said the sidewalks and crosswalks in downtown could use improvement and that maneuvering thru Sidney’s downtown in a wheelchair has several challenges.
Both said that one of the greatest challenges is that drivers in the downtown area don’t yield the right-of-way and often use the far right lanes as turning lanes. (This happens to be illegal in Sidney, in case you didn’t know.) When drivers use the far right for turning, it forces anyone needing to cross that street to use extra caution when stepping from the curb. (Because we are a right-turn-on-red state, we can legally turn but only from the correct driving lane.)
So an added bonus from the bulb-outs would be that drivers couldn’t drive to the right of the car stopped ahead of them to turn right, because the bulb-out would block their path.
The engineer for the project, Don Dye, told the council 8-foot bulb-outs are highly effective and that is the smallest size he would recommend.
Council questioned him about a 6-foot or 4-foot version, and Dye said anything smaller than 6-foot would not be effective at all.
I called Mr. Dye this morning and questioned him about the effectiveness of the different sizes. He told me that he does not recommend going smaller than 8-foot, but the 6-foot version does provide some benefits to pedestrians. (Dye is an expert on traffic behavior and pavement management. To check his credentials, go to http://www.mcschaff.net/index2.php )
So, there are two questions.
First question, Do we build the bulb-out curbs or not? If the project is to have any real affect on the look of downtown, I say yes. I like the way the bulb-outs look and I think they would enhance the historic district.
Second question, What size do we build?
My vote is for the 8-foot size. The cost savings between the 6-foot or 8-foot versions will probably be minimal, and if we are going to build them, let’s make sure that they are highly effective and not just somewhat effective.
Food for thought. Whatever this council decides is what the historic downtown district will have for curbs and crosswalks for the next 20 to 30 years.
If, however, a small savings is enough to persuade council to sacrifice the safety of the pedestrians, I say scrap the bulb-outs altogether, and save all the money.
If we have nothing but the legally required ADA compliant curbs, there will be no sense of false security and we will just have to wait 20 to 30 years for additional safety measures and any beautification efforts to be installed.
