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What is the geometric design of the crossings where the vehicles will never go over crosswalks while the walk signal is on? Does this mean right turns on red will be prohibited? On almost every road, including Colfax, cars can still turn right when they have the red and the walk signal is on, and they rarely stop for pedestrians, instead focusing on perpendicular traffic. The only thing that comes to mind is how most European countries position their traffic lights, where they are on the near side of the intersection rather than the far side, so if drivers pull into the crosswalk, they can't see the light anymore. I know that American traffic light design doesn't really follow that though.
In terms of traffic light timings on the perpendicular streets, is anything being done to make public transportation get through faster? For instance, (though I know this isn't in the area of this project), I often take the 17 bus line from Oak Station, and the biggest bottleneck is turning left onto Colfax. A similar delay happens on the 100 and 76 lines. I've seen in Seattle that with new pedestrian sensors and transit signal priority, they had busses go straight through on the green light and let pedestrians cross safely.
Are all the improved crossings only getting from one side of Colfax to the other, or do they apply to all four sides of the street? For example, crossing Colfax could be quite nice but then needing to cross Sheridan right after poses the exact same risks if the crossings aren't also updated.
Q:
1) What is the geometric design of the crossings where vehicles go over crosswalks while the walk signal is on? Does that mean right turns on red will be prohibited?
At the Z-crossings, the new medians on Colfax Avenue cause side street drivers to only be able to turn right onto Colfax. At these intersections, all of the crosswalks are on the left side of the side street, meaning that drivers turning from a side street onto Colfax will never be in conflict with the crosswalk across Colfax. For drivers on Colfax, the Z-crossing traffic signal stops drivers with a red light when the pedestrians are given a walk indication. These traffic signals at the Z-crossings have been placed upstream of the intersection, meaning that drivers cannot turn right at the next side street until they have a green indication to proceed.
The traditional traffic signal intersections on Colfax will not have restrictions preventing turns on red. Lakewood typically only restricts turns on red when there is a sight distance issue. Our crash data shows that there are very few pedestrian crashes that occur due to a driver turning right on red, and that "No Turn on Red" signs are not effective and have low driver compliance. Additionally, restricting right turns on red forces all drivers to make their right turns on green. A driver with a green light is more likely to assume they have the right of way than a driver with a red light, and may therefore be more likely to turn across a crosswalk versus the driver who has already stopped at a red light and is looking for a gap in traffic.
2) In terms of traffic light timings on the perpendicular streets, is anything being done to make public transportation get through faster?
No, this project does not include traffic signal features like transit signal priority. The project design did relocate the bus stops to the far side of the intersection where possible to ensure that buses never "miss" a green light when making a stop on the near side of the intersection.
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3) Are all the improved crossings only getting from one side of Colfax to the other, or do they apply to all four sides of the street? For example, crossing Colfax could be quite nice but then needing to cross Sheridan right after poses the exact same risks if the crossings aren't also updated.
The side streets (with the exception of Wadsworth to the west and Sheridan to the east) carry much lower traffic volumes than Colfax Avenue and have minimal pedestrian crash history as compared to pedestrians crossing Colfax, so enhancements for side street crossings were not as much of a focus or need as the enhancements to crossings on Colfax. At the traditional traffic signal intersections, there will be marked crosswalks for the side streets and pedestrians will receive a walk indication when conflicting vehicles have a red light. These intersections will typically operate in "pedestrian recall," meaning that the walk indication will come up every cycle and pedestrians do not need to push the button. At the Z-crossings, because side street traffic can only turn right in or right out, there will be even fewer potential vehicle-pedestrian conflicts than there are currently.
The Wadsworth and Sheridan intersections are outside the scope of this project. Lakewood is currently working with DRCOG, CDOT, Denver, and other neighboring agencies on the Sheridan Corridor Study which will provide safety recommendations along the Sheridan Corridor, including the intersection of Colfax and Sheridan.
This project looks great for both driver and pedestrian safety. I do have two questions regarding the project however. Firstly, where are the bikes going to go? I noticed that in the drawings, there are no dedicated bike lanes. Does that mean bikers are expected to go on the sidewalks? Secondly, are the crossings going to be raised? Raised crossings are considered much safer for pedestrians, since cars are forced to slow down when encountering an intersection. After all, physics works better than signs. Tangentially to that, with the improved medians, will two-phase crossings and pedestrian leading indicators be implemented into the traffic light timings? Thanks!
Q:
1) Where are the bikes going to go?
The drawings show no dedicated bike lanes, are they expected to use the sidewalks?
Throughout Lakewood, bike lanes are not recommended on roadways that have relatively high traffic volumes and/or traffic speeds, such as this segment of Colfax Avenue. When traffic volumes and speeds are relatively high, it is safer and more comfortable for bicyclists to travel in a facility that is separated from the roadway. The recently adopted Lakewood Bike Plan identifies a “side path” as the appropriate bicycle facility on Colfax Avenue. Side paths are paved off-street paths that run adjacent to a roadway and accommodate two-way travel for bicyclists, pedestrians, and other non-motorized forms of travel. The Colfax Project is providing a side path on the north side of the corridor that is at least 8-feet wide.
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Alternatively, east-west bicyclists may opt to travel along 14th Avenue, which currently provides continuous on-street bike lanes from Garrison Street to Sheridan Boulevard.
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2) Are the new Z-crossings going to be raised? If not, can you please let me know the reason?
All of the crossings on Colfax Avenue will stop vehicles with red lights when providing pedestrians with a walk indication to cross the street. The new crossings are not going to be raised because vehicles will be stopped when pedestrians are crossing the road. Additionally, raised crosswalks are only recommended for roadways with speed limits less than 30 mph; The Colfax Project was designed to maintain the existing speed limit of 35 mph.
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The traffic signals along Colfax Avenue are programmed so that vehicles traveling along the corridor are tightly grouped together in platoons, which provides large gaps in traffic when pedestrians receive the walk indication to cross Colfax. This programming also ensures that vehicles traveling at or below the speed limit will receive green lights as they approach a traffic signal, and vehicles exceeding the speed limit will catch red lights. This programming has been shown to significantly reduce speeding on Colfax Avenue and ensures that most vehicles travel at the appropriate speed, so physical traffic calming like speed humps are not being considered.
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3) With the improved medians, will two-phase crossings and pedestrian leading indicators be implemented into the traffic light timings?
The Z-crossings will be two-stage crossings and leading pedestrian intervals (LPIs) will not be implemented. LPIs are intended to reduce conflicts between pedestrians and turning vehicles. The Z-crossings have been designed geometrically so that vehicles will never be turning across a crosswalk when a pedestrian has the walk indication.