"Increase Pedestrian Safety on Shore Drive" Facebook Group

Info about the group:

Name:
Increase Pedestrian Safety on Shore Drive
Category:
Common Interest - Politics
Description:
To many lives, young and old are lost on Shore Drive from pedestrian-vehicular accidents. A few months ago the city installed signs with flashing lights to warn drivers of pedestrian traffic, but they are not enough! Cross walks, and Traffic control devices MUST be installed ASAP! Please join this group before another innocent life is lost!
Privacy Type:
Open: All content is public.

As of the time of this post, there are 2,507 members.

How drivers see pedestrians

In rooting around on this topic, I came across some papers written by a hired gun PhD. One in particular stands out.

The author’s key points, some of which are commonly known: (the strength of his argument is how he quantifies and ties it all together)

-how even legal speeds can allow overdriving the distance that one is capable of seeing and avoiding for a pedestrian

-the effects of higher speeds at night and our ability to process what we see

-the role that age plays – those of us aged 50 and up detect pedestrians at substantially shorter distances than younger drivers (he quantifies it)

-how what we can process is zero sum- attention given to one thing comes at the expense of others

-the role of auto lighting: it’s designed to keep glare down for oncoming motorists, at the expense of spotting other things like pedestrians

-what our eyes see vs what the brain processes, especially at night; the role of contrast

-how we as pedestrians so badly under estimate a drivers ability to see us

-especially at night, one’s choice of where to cross a road is a critical factor in whether a driver will see you

-especially at night, one’s choice of clothing is a critical factor

-adverse factors such as rearview mirror posts, smoking, dirty headlights

-the role of alcohol and fatality rates (your risk of a crash after drinking and then walking is slightly higher (5x) than getting behind the wheel (4x)!) (importantly, it doesn’t take a legally defined staggering drunk to greatly increase ones risk)

So many things conspire to force both driver and walker into a death trap.

Thanks to Bruce for sharing this.

View Facebook Memorial Page, take Poll, & comment on article about Whitney Lynn Hulce

At Shore Drive Community Coalition's site.

Whitney Lynne Hulce, a pedestrian, was killed on Shore Drive Sunday morning

At SDCC.info here and here. Tragic.

In that one and half mile section of Shore Drive, officials say there have been more than one hundred crashes in the past two years.

Minneapolis Dethrones Portland As Bike-Friendliest City

From an article in Wired's Autopia filed under Infrastructure:

Portland’s fall to second place came despite the ambitious $600 million Portland Bicycle Plan 2030 that calls for nearly 700 miles of new bike trails within 20 years.

Also pretty amazing when you consider weather. Did you know, as an example, Minneapolis averages significantly more snowfall and a shorter biking "season" than Portland and Virginia Beach?

In case you are as curious as I was, all 3 cities are close to the same population size. From Wikipedia:

• Virginia Beach 433,746 pop.
• Minneapolis 390,131 pop.
• Portland 582,130 pop.

From Bicycling.com, America's Top 50 Bike Friendly Cities.
Tragically, none are in Virginia.

1st Annual 14m Virginia Beach Bridge Run - Friday, April 9th

Saw this from Greg in Facebook:

I won't be in town for next weekend's Great Dismal Swamp Stomp 1/2 Marathon, I've created my own event. The run will kick off from the Virginia Aquarium and end at Salty Seas (formerly Salty Dogs) 14 miles away. It will cross the Rudee Inlet Bridge, Great Neck Bridge, Old Great Neck Bridge, and Lesner Bridge, as well as traverse First Landing State Park's Long Creek Trail. Dinner and pints provided (for money) by Chick's Oyster Bar immediately following.

Email Greg to find out more at gregoryhersh at yahoo dot com.

Embedded map below should show route.

“This is the end of favoring motorized transportation at the expense of non-motorized.”

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood tweeted in reference to a new federal bike and pedestrian policy, which promises to, “Treat walking and bicycling as equals with other transportation modes.”

Hat tip VBF's article US Sec’y of Transportation at the Bike Summit.

Biking Directions added to Google Maps

From the Official Google Blog a few days ago:

Let's say you want to bike to work, or maybe you want to drive less and spend more time outdoors. Biking directions can help you find a convenient and efficient route that makes use of dedicated bike trails or lanes[.]

Hat tip Mashable.

Active Community Transportation Act, H.R.4722, introduced March 2nd

From Alliance for Biking and Walking:

Representative Earl Blumenauer introduced the Active Community Transportation Act, H.R.4722, on 3/2/10. This groundbreaking bill creates a competitive grant program with $2 Billion to help communities build bicycling and walking networks. For the first time, communities would be able to compete for multi-year funding to build active transportation systems, just as they do for transit and road infrastructure.

At OpenCongress.org:

To direct the Secretary of Transportation to carry out an active transportation investment program to encourage a mode shift to active transportation within selected communities by providing safe and convenient options to bicycle and walk for routine travel, and for other purposes.

At Congressman Blumenauer's site - Blumenauer ACTS to Make Active Transportation Safer, Easier, and More Accessible.

Hat tip to Virginia Bicycling Federation for info on H.R.4722.

Take the Pledge to drive safe - April 28th & everyday is Distracted Driving Awareness Day

From Drive Smart Virginia, info about how your behavior increases your chances of an accident & more:

Behavior	Increased Risk
Texting (illegal in Virginia)	23 times
Reaching for a moving object	9 times
Driving drowsy	4 times
Looking at an external object	3.7 times
Reading	3.4 times
Using a cell phone	4 times*
Applying makeup	3 times
Eating	1.6 times
Reaching for a non-moving object	1.4 times
Talking on hand-held phone	1.3 times

And:

Top 10 Tips to Minimize Your Distracted Driving

1. CHANGE YOUR WAYS and recognize the activities that distract you; such as eating, conversing on the phone, or changing a CD.
2. MAKE A PLAN. Get directions, study your route, check weather and road conditions. Make sure children are properly buckled up and occupied.
3. MANAGE YOUR TIME so that you do not have to multi-task or drive aggressively on the road.
4. DON’T LET YOUR DRIVE TIME BECOME YOUR DOWN TIME....

Please head to Drive Smart Virgina now and Take the Don't Drive Distracted Pledge.
"Companies" can become a partner too.