Dan "The Road Warrior" Hartzell Has Got Nothing On Me!

I thought this was an interesting story and video in the local newspaper. Click on the link to see it:

http://www.mcall.com/news/all-a5_5warrior0821.6993181aug21,0,7175467.column

I’ve heard about “stings” like these, but I had no idea they were being conducted here in Bethlehem. Good for us! I finally feel as though I am part of a protected class: the endangered pedestrian. Unfortunately, I think the city is treating the symptom while being completely blind to the root cause.

It’s the design, stupid! On streets in the middle of a dense city, such as Bethlehem, there’s no way a driver should feel comfortable enough to go over 25 miles per hour. But they do, and the reason why? Because the streets are too wide. Bethlehem has done a great job with allowing on-street parking in many areas (which narrows the street a bit) and avoiding one-way streets in most cases (which serve to encourage speeding). But they have dropped the ball in many cases with street widths. Many perfectly good urban neighborhoods and commercial districts in the city have been tainted by street widths that limit safe walking, as displayed so clearly in this video. Motorists are much less likely to speed on narrow streets because they feel less safe doing so. Of course, one of the main purposes of designing streets for cars is to move them as quickly as possible, which is in direct opposition to pedestrian safety measures.

Have you ever been on one of those streets that seems too narrow for two-way traffic? Or at one of those 5, 6, or 7 way intersections that confuse the crap out of everyone? We have largely “fixed” these streets, but guess what? They are the safest streets in America by far. There’s a very good reason for this: drivers become confused and cautious, which improves safety for both pedestrians and other drivers. So, what’s our goal? To move people quickly, or to do it safely?

Moving cars quickly is an underlying purpose for wide streets, but can anyone tell me what the most significant reason for our wider-than-needed streets is? You have 24 hours!

P.S. It's amazing to me that Mr. Road Warrior is putting these stings down, as if pedestrians don't belong in crosswalks. It's like saying drivers don't belong on the streets, which as much as I would love to make that argument sometimes, it's just a dumb statement. I think I have found my calling: to be the literary arch-nemisis of the Road Warrior.

~The Pedestrian Pacifist