Pedestrian fatalities

antoobrien wrote: »

I wouldn't necessarily agree that they don't given enough priority to pedestrians, I think it's that they make a mess of where and when they do it.

GCC decided a number of years ago to pedestrianize one side of Eyre Sq. there used to be pelican crossings at the 4 corners. When it was redeveloped they moved/removed the crossing points at 3 of the corners and converted the 4th to be push button pedestrian lights. Then they put barriers up to stop pedestrians from crossing at the natural points (Victoria place), while putting one crossing in a dangerous place (near the corner with Forster St) - it's far too close to the corner (instead of putting a set of traffic lights there - like Courthouse Sq).

In the example given an attempt to give pedestrians greater priority was done badly, making more problems for everyone.

Ok I am arguably biased as I was intimately involved in the campaign to stop the Eyre Square proposals. The claim that this was about attempting to give pedestrians greater priority is not, in my view, supportable. The way the ES redevelopment played out is a useful illustrator of official attitudes to pedestrian access.

My analysis is that the ES scheme was about the systematic removal of priority from pedestrians so as to facilitate motor traffic. What the traffic engineers wanted to do was create what was in effect a large roundabout comprising, Prospect hill, Forster St, and the East side of Eyre Square.

Before the scheme, the square had sets of Zebra crossings that were located on the pedestrian travel desire lines and kept the pedestrians moving through the square. The square's most important transport function was as a transit point for walkers and as a hub for public transport services. Over the years the Zebra crossings had been neglected to the point that most of the beacons were gone and the markings worn away - but they still worked.

Community volunteers even went out one morning and repainted the white stripes themselves. This sparked a funny incident where the Guards showed up and threatened to arrest people - but couldn't figure out what for.

The officials backing the scheme claimed it was about promoting pedestrians and public transport. However I recall at the time being told by a Bus Eireann official that the City officials had declined to meet them to discuss the fact that they were rearranging their bus stops for them. On the pedestrian issue - at the Bord Pleanala Oral hearing it transpired at the city council had not actually bothered to count the number of people crossing the road until that week. In a flagship pedestrian scheme no analysis had been done of who crossed the road, where, or why?

As already stated the existing crossings - which matched the pedestrians desire lines and gave them priority - were removed and traffic light or pelican-type crossings put in instead. So now the pedestrians would have to wait by default. As already indicated, some locations were changed so that pedestrians now had to make awkard detours to locations where they also could not easily see what traffic was coming.

This scheme was demonstrably about trying to control pedestrians for the greater convenience of motorists. Funnily enough to this day many people ignore the crossings and continue to cross the road where they always did.

I recall John Henry the DTO chief giving a talk in Galway where he remarked at the way traffic had been allowed to dominate the Square and this being the first thing that strikes a visitor as they leave the bus/train station.

Appropos the tendentious "enforcement" issue. I once stood and watched two tourists waiting to cross at the lights opposite the Bord Failte office on Forster St. As I recall the lights went through three full cycles - for the cars - and they still hadn't gotten a green man. The locals were just going in the gaps and yes buttons had been pressed. I think I moved on myself at this point.