Description

Please note that this should be filed under Traffic Engineering rather than under Electrical.

After several months of peacefully accommodating pedestrians with every green light, the BART Frontage Road traffic signal has been reprogrammed again to require pedestrians to push a button and wait before they receive a walk signal. The natural result is that pedestrians now disregard the signal and cross in spite of it.

The policies that this and every signal should follow to make Oakland welcoming to pedestrians are:

* Every green light phase that is long enough for a safe pedestrian crossing shall be accompanied by a walk signal
* Every crosswalk that receives 50 or more pedestrian crossings during the peak hour shall receive a walk signal as part of every signal cycle all day
* When a crosswalk button is pushed while the light is green for the parallel roadway, that crosswalk shall immediately be given a walk signal rather than being required to wait until the next cycle