The City of Gainesville has committed to eliminating traffic deaths on our roads by 2040. We know how to get there, now we just need to get the plans, projects, and staffing to do it.
Great column, as always, Bryan. I am so glad to hear this issue getting the proper attention it deserves. A few years ago I and a young person with a bike were about to cross 13th St near University. It was just starting to rain, so everyone was scrambling to get where they needed to be. The light turned, the walk sign came on, and we both started to go. I noticed at the very last second that an oncoming vehicle was about to run that light. I stopped and yelled to the other person, who was a step or two ahead of me, to stop. They turned around to see why I was yelling at them just as the other car whizzed through the intersection. I have no doubt in my mind that the two of us were a heartbeat away from being a statistic referred to in your article. And I'm confident that pretty much everyone who reads your column can name someone close to them who has been personally affected by this epidemic of traffic injuries/fatalities.
My biggest question coming away from this post is what role traffic enforcement plays. I've lived in Gville for 16 years now and it wouldn't be much of an exaggeration to say that I can count on two hands the number of times I've seen GPD pulling people over in this town. Meanwhile, I routinely see people running red lights and doing some serious speeding and very aggressive driving, sometimes right on 6th Street (near where I live and drive the most) within a stone's throw of GPD HQ. This is one of the few areas where I, personally, would really like to see more policing. Thanks!
I'm glad everyone came out okay. One thing this reminds me of is we don't have red light cameras in the city which we need to do. If they were installed anywhere it would be on University and 13th, and that would have solved your issue. We have the ability to do that, lots of studies have shown it reduces red light running and red light running is hugely dangerous.
Enforcement is important and the studies I've seen show that it's effective, at least during the times they are enforcing. People will slow down during "high visibility enforcement" campaigns, but people speed up rapidly right afterward. It's not a long term solution, but it does work. I like automated enforcement because it catches people everytime and changes behavior in total (hence red light cameras). I think it's all important, but design/engineering plays a bigger role in long term safer driving.
Your blog posts are always so thorough and well written and bring up important issues. Thank you and keep up the great work.
Thanks Gwen!
Great column, as always, Bryan. I am so glad to hear this issue getting the proper attention it deserves. A few years ago I and a young person with a bike were about to cross 13th St near University. It was just starting to rain, so everyone was scrambling to get where they needed to be. The light turned, the walk sign came on, and we both started to go. I noticed at the very last second that an oncoming vehicle was about to run that light. I stopped and yelled to the other person, who was a step or two ahead of me, to stop. They turned around to see why I was yelling at them just as the other car whizzed through the intersection. I have no doubt in my mind that the two of us were a heartbeat away from being a statistic referred to in your article. And I'm confident that pretty much everyone who reads your column can name someone close to them who has been personally affected by this epidemic of traffic injuries/fatalities.
My biggest question coming away from this post is what role traffic enforcement plays. I've lived in Gville for 16 years now and it wouldn't be much of an exaggeration to say that I can count on two hands the number of times I've seen GPD pulling people over in this town. Meanwhile, I routinely see people running red lights and doing some serious speeding and very aggressive driving, sometimes right on 6th Street (near where I live and drive the most) within a stone's throw of GPD HQ. This is one of the few areas where I, personally, would really like to see more policing. Thanks!
I'm glad everyone came out okay. One thing this reminds me of is we don't have red light cameras in the city which we need to do. If they were installed anywhere it would be on University and 13th, and that would have solved your issue. We have the ability to do that, lots of studies have shown it reduces red light running and red light running is hugely dangerous.
Enforcement is important and the studies I've seen show that it's effective, at least during the times they are enforcing. People will slow down during "high visibility enforcement" campaigns, but people speed up rapidly right afterward. It's not a long term solution, but it does work. I like automated enforcement because it catches people everytime and changes behavior in total (hence red light cameras). I think it's all important, but design/engineering plays a bigger role in long term safer driving.