Even a chimpanzee could of told you that the faster a vehicle is moving the higher the chance of a pedestrian being killed. Simple physics, Simple physics
^ Does it really require a bar graph to show that a person's chance of dying increases as the speed of the car increases?
EDIT: Capotp beat me to it.
The problem is that people are illegally jay-walking. Shouldn't the question then be "how do stop people from jay-walking in this area?" not "how slow do the cars have to be going to not cause serious injury when jay-walkers are hit?".
Not always true. Many pedestrians are killed at intersections and in crosswalks by careless and reckless drivers. At intersections, traffic can come from all directions and as traffic is turning, it is difficult as a pedestrian to account for all the vehicles that may be a hazard. At least crossing mid-block, you only have to worry about traffic in two directions. Regardless, slowing down traffic saves lives and reduces delays due to accidents which is much more important than travelling through downtown a minute or two faster.
Back in the early part of last century, the auto lobby waged a very effective propaganda campaign against mid-block crossings so speeds could be increased. They even invented the term "jay-walking" to make mid-block crossing seem irresponsible.
A pedestrian at all times should be aware of everything that is going on around them. Just as the driver in a car should be aware of everything that going on around them.
For a pedestrian to just walk out onto a cross walk without looking to see if it is safe and paying attention to where vehicles my come from. Is completely irresponsible.
Not always true. Many pedestrians are killed at intersections and in crosswalks by careless and reckless drivers. At intersections, traffic can come from all directions and as traffic is turning, it is difficult as a pedestrian to account for all the vehicles that may be a hazard. At least crossing mid-block, you only have to worry about traffic in two directions. Regardless, slowing down traffic saves lives and reduces delays due to accidents which is much more important than travelling through downtown a minute or two faster.
Not always true. Many are killed on the road due to careless and reckless pedestrians. On a road, traffic moves in both directions as intended and as a person is driving, it is difficult to account for all the junkies that may be a hazard. At least crossing at a crosswalk, you only have to worry about the geniuses who run red lights or speed. Regardless, using a crosswalk saves lives and reduces delays due to accidents which is much more important than jaywalking to cross a road a minute or two faster.
Pedestrians aren't allowed on freeways? because cars are moving at 100+ feet per second
but your graph CLEARLY illustrates that the higher the speed, the higher chance at fatality.
There are plenty of roads where pedestrians are permitted that are major arterials with 60-70 km/h speed limits. Are you suggesting those be lowered down to 30 km/h as well?
the proposal is stupid. if pigs can give out stupid tickets to motorists for aftermarket exhausts, no front plate, lowered cars ... then why not start dishing out tickets to junkies that wanna jump if front of traffic not givin a ish about their life and others paying tax behind the wheel ?
Last edited by East Van; Jun 11, 2010 at 10:50 PM.
I think a median with a fence down the centre is the way to go if they don't want to enforce the law. Just plant some of those plants that intertwine with the mesh and before long it will look very nice and solve the problem.
The 30km/h limit would only be around the downtown east side... drug users don't care about traffic laws. They cross whenever they want to. I drove down Cordova yesterday and counted five people who just ignored their red light/don't walk signal and crossed anyway.
I think a median with a fence down the centre is the way to go if they don't want to enforce the law. Just plant some of those plants that intertwine with the mesh and before long it will look very nice and solve the problem.
Great idea. A lane of traffic would have to be removed to create room for the median fence. That will speed up traffic.
This type of fence would be enough of a deterrent for 90% of the jay-walkers and it could match the historical feel of the neighbourhood.
EDIT: So looking on Google streetview, I now realize there is metered parking along a good stretch of the road. Fencing probably wouldn't work for the entire stretch. Seeing how the problem area is mostly 6 lanes, I'd eliminate 1 lane and use it's width for a median + a bike lane on the side. For the narrow portion that doesn't have parking, the wrought iron fencing would work.
Slow to 30 km/h? It's a frickin artery, find another solution that doesn't involve snail pace speeds....only in Vancouver would something so asinine be suggested for a major artery.
The problem is Vancouver doesn't have a major artery......of course if we had traffic better directed onto the viaducts we could then downgrade Hastings from a "major" artery to more of a local street, therefore have wider sidewalks, slower traffic speeds, etc... without causing major congestion. Seriously, the average driving speed down Hastings and 1st Ave is 60 to 80, posting more signs with slower speeds printed on them will not make a difference, unfortunately they are the largest arteries into downtown from the east so people will continue to treat them as such
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because cars are moving at 100+ feet per second
The problem is Vancouver doesn't have a major artery......of course if we had traffic better directed onto the viaducts we could then downgrade Hastings from a "major" artery to more of a local street, therefore have wider sidewalks, slower traffic speeds, etc... without causing major congestion. Seriously, the average driving speed down Hastings and 1st Ave is 60 to 80, posting more signs with slower speeds printed on them will not make a difference, unfortunately they are the largest arteries into downtown from the east so people will continue to treat them as such 
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