I live next to a rail to trail bike trail that intersects with a very busy two lane road with a center turn lane and three side streets that run parallel to the trail if you can envision that. Anyway, the intersection has always been a problem and several accidents between cars and bikes have occurred here.
For years it has just been marked as a cross walk with signage warning of the crosswalk for approaching cars and signs on the trail warning walkers and cyclists to stop before crossing. Over the years they have tried some modifications including those little rubber poles in the middle of the street with a picture of a bike and small stop sign that caused people to stop even though no bikes or walkers were in the intersection. They also installed overhead flashing yellow lights to call attention to the crossing. In Maryland vehicles are required to stop if someone is in the crosswalk, but not if the bike or walkers are approaching the crosswalk, only within the crosswalk.
Most drivers would slow down and stop if they saw someone approaching the crosswalk as a courtesy or out of fear that the bike or pedestrian would not stop and dart out in front of them which was a common occurrence. Some drivers would jam on the brakes when seeing a bike or runner 50 yds up the trail!
Very frustrating for traffic behind this type of driver and confusing to cars approaching from the opposite direction since they may not see any reason to stop. It was also not good for a biker because he would see the car stopping for him to cross but not sure the cars coming from the opposite direction were also going to stop since he wasn't to the crossing yet. Technically the bike had the stop sign, not the cars.
Recently the county decided to add additional measures to the intersection. They installed traffic lights that sense automatically when someone is on the bike trail approaching the intersection and change the flashing yellow lights to red for the cars to stop.
They also installed the walk/don't walk signs for trail users with a button to push at the crossing in case the sensor doesn't pick them up or if they approach the crossing from other than the trail.
This system cost the county several hundred thousand dollars (maybe $800,00 IIRC). It has been a miserable failure. Bikes reach the intersection before the light turns red so cars stop anyway to let the bikes cross. Once the bikes cross, the light turns red and the cars are still sitting there with no one using the crossing! The bikes cross even though the walk/don't walk sign says don't walk. Once the bikes cross, the light for the cars stays red for another 15 seconds or so and then goes back to flashing yellow again. About this time the pedestrian on the trail makes it to the crosswalk as the don't walk sign comes on again. The line of cars that started to proceed through the intersection comes to a stop for the pedestrians even though the light is not red.
Again, they are stopping as a courtesy to the pedestrian, not because of traffic laws. In the meantime the pedestrian has pushed the crosswalk button so the signal is sent to the traffic light to turn red again, but by the time it does turn red the pedestrian has already crossed and the cars are sitting at a red light with no one crossing!
Adding to this, the side streets on both sides of the trail also have red lights that are synced with the main roads signal so they turn red at the same time. Lots of cars sitting idling at red lights for no reason. So now the county sent out a letter stating that the lights are not working as planned and will just go back to flashing yellow with no red lights! Could have used that money to build another mile of bike trail!
For years it has just been marked as a cross walk with signage warning of the crosswalk for approaching cars and signs on the trail warning walkers and cyclists to stop before crossing. Over the years they have tried some modifications including those little rubber poles in the middle of the street with a picture of a bike and small stop sign that caused people to stop even though no bikes or walkers were in the intersection. They also installed overhead flashing yellow lights to call attention to the crossing. In Maryland vehicles are required to stop if someone is in the crosswalk, but not if the bike or walkers are approaching the crosswalk, only within the crosswalk.
Most drivers would slow down and stop if they saw someone approaching the crosswalk as a courtesy or out of fear that the bike or pedestrian would not stop and dart out in front of them which was a common occurrence. Some drivers would jam on the brakes when seeing a bike or runner 50 yds up the trail!
Very frustrating for traffic behind this type of driver and confusing to cars approaching from the opposite direction since they may not see any reason to stop. It was also not good for a biker because he would see the car stopping for him to cross but not sure the cars coming from the opposite direction were also going to stop since he wasn't to the crossing yet. Technically the bike had the stop sign, not the cars.
Recently the county decided to add additional measures to the intersection. They installed traffic lights that sense automatically when someone is on the bike trail approaching the intersection and change the flashing yellow lights to red for the cars to stop.
They also installed the walk/don't walk signs for trail users with a button to push at the crossing in case the sensor doesn't pick them up or if they approach the crossing from other than the trail.
This system cost the county several hundred thousand dollars (maybe $800,00 IIRC). It has been a miserable failure. Bikes reach the intersection before the light turns red so cars stop anyway to let the bikes cross. Once the bikes cross, the light turns red and the cars are still sitting there with no one using the crossing! The bikes cross even though the walk/don't walk sign says don't walk. Once the bikes cross, the light for the cars stays red for another 15 seconds or so and then goes back to flashing yellow again. About this time the pedestrian on the trail makes it to the crosswalk as the don't walk sign comes on again. The line of cars that started to proceed through the intersection comes to a stop for the pedestrians even though the light is not red.
Again, they are stopping as a courtesy to the pedestrian, not because of traffic laws. In the meantime the pedestrian has pushed the crosswalk button so the signal is sent to the traffic light to turn red again, but by the time it does turn red the pedestrian has already crossed and the cars are sitting at a red light with no one crossing!
Adding to this, the side streets on both sides of the trail also have red lights that are synced with the main roads signal so they turn red at the same time. Lots of cars sitting idling at red lights for no reason. So now the county sent out a letter stating that the lights are not working as planned and will just go back to flashing yellow with no red lights! Could have used that money to build another mile of bike trail!
