It IS happening here !

Not quite the sign-free "Shared Space" - but it's a beginning:
Bikes, cars share Oak Street
New 'sharrows' signs on pavement give notice

By John Darling, For the Ashland Daily Tidings, November 18, 2009

"...Oak Street officially became the city's first "shared roadway" this week when crews laid thermoplastic signs on the pavement between Lithia Way and Nevada Street..."

[more]

In Ashland, Cars Rule - OK?

A local resident recently wrote to the Editor of Ashland's Daily Tidings newspaper:

Pedestrians, save gas by not making traffic stop for you
Pedestrians! Don't make autos stop for you at crosswalks! Although autos are required by law to stop for pedestrians, we'd use less gasoline and create less pollution if pedestrians waited for traffic to clear before crossing, or walked half a block to the closest stoplight...So all you oh-so-green Ashlanders, do your bit to reduce our dependence on foreign oil and lessen the risk of global warming — don't make vehicles stop for you at crosswalks!

read entire letter at [link]

Perhaps a better solution might be to eliminate all the traffic signals and reduce the speed of vehicles such that pedestrians could safely cross anywhere between the slow-moving traffic. Drivers would be watching the pedestrians rather than the green-for-GO signal above them.
Sounds like - Shared space ! see video - Introduction to Shared Space

Impromptu Shared Space Calms Soho Intersection

by Ben Fried on March 5, 2009 courtesy of StreetsBlog.org

...Reader Tim Koelle sends this report of a busted traffic signal gone terribly right at the intersection of West Broadway and Grand yesterday morning:
I watched for an hour while cars, trucks and pedestrians shared this space quietly... with civility! Little honking, no aggressive driving, no traffic cop. Why? Because the light was out.
No one had to speed up and honk to make the green light on time; no one honked or changed lanes to take advantage of the narrow window of time the light granted them. Everyone came to a stop, looked around (wondering why the light was dead, and what they should do), and proceeded slowly thru.
Instead of a line of cars waiting for the light to change, alternate sides vying with each other for the few precious moments allowing them the right to pass thru... no one had to wait very long. And in fact the alternate sides traded back and forth, almost at a one-to-one ratio. No one had to wait, so no one got stuck in a line, so no one sped up, so no one honked, so there was no need for aggressive driving! Even pedestrians got their due... [more, with comments]

It reminds me of when a power cut in Downtown Ashland happened just at evening rush hour, shutting down all the traffic signals.
Everybody just quietly took their turn - bikes, pedestrians and cars all watching each other, rather than waiting for the eye-in-the-sky to tell them to GO !
I have also heard reports of early morning commuters stopped and waiting at red lights on Lithia Way - for the non-existing cross traffic. Do we actually need traffic signals in Ashland?
Comments welcome.

Cities try to improve crosswalk safety

By Larry Copeland, USA TODAY
Cities alarmed by deaths and injuries of pedestrians are ramping up efforts to make crosswalks safer for people on foot, especially seniors and children who need more time to cross streets.
A pedestrian is killed in a traffic crash in the USA every 110 minutes; one is injured every nine minutes, according to federal data. Crosswalks can be especially perilous for the elderly. ..

In 2006, 471 pedestrians nationwide were killed in crosswalks, down slightly from 488 10 years earlier, according to the NHTSA. Several factors contribute to danger at crosswalks:
•Highways are designed and built primarily to accommodate vehicles, not pedestrians.
•Most pedestrian accidents at intersections involve turning vehicles. Drivers who routinely fail to yield to pedestrians in crosswalks run little risk of being cited unless they actually strike a pedestrian.
•About one-third of pedestrian deaths result from their disobeying traffic signals or using poor judgment, according to federal data.

see story of yet another crosswalk accident in Ashland on Feb. 18. 2009 :
Car Hits Woman Crossing

A Road Diet for Ashland?

see- Road Diet Handbook: Setting Trends by Livable Streets by Jennifer A. Rosales, P.E.

Safety benefits:
– Reduced vehicle speeds
– Reduced conflict points
– Improved sight distance
- Improved pedestrian & bike safety

Read the Rosales handbook here or Dan Burden's 1999 paper on Road Diets here

Interviewed on JPR's Jefferson Exchange 10/10/08 , John Fregonese, former Ashland Planning Director stated:
"...We did an Ashland Street plan. It was one of the last things I did when I was here.......I think the idea was to try to make Ashland Street - which quite frankly has got two extra lanes - I mean, you could really take two more lanes out of that and make it a more livable, pedestrian-friendly street. It just doesn't justify the number of lanes it has for the traffic..."

Would a Road Diet also work for North Main between Maple and Downtown Ashland ?

Try Shared Space in Ashland ?
by Steve Ryan

I see two threads here and below, that are relevant to Ashland:
First, it will take a critical mass of data supporting fewer accidents using shared space, to remove opposition to experimenting with shared space here in Ashland, but, there are enough case studies here on this blog alone, to make a compelling argument that we should at least try shared space here in Ashland, in as controlled a situation as possible, and
Second, I wonder if shared space works best when there are enough pedestrians present so that car drivers have to be careful: Perhaps in a high-pedestrian traffic area like Ashland's plaza/ downtown couplet, there would be enough pedestrians as to make the drivers careful, whereas on a higher-speed strip with fewer pedestrians, say North Main coming into town, we may want to be careful implementing shared space at first, because of the higher vehicle speeds and risk of human life.
But, it does seem Ashland has a very appropriate crucible for an experiment with shared space in our downtown, where vehicle speeds are lower and there are enough peds that drivers will be wary: We should consider experimenting with a shared space model, as there seems to be quite a growing body of evidence shared space can deliver more safety for everyone in appropriate situations.
Many thanks to Mr. Swales for saving us all what looks like many hours in research here; I vote we at least discuss implementing shared space where the existing structural characteristics indicate an appropriate opportunity: the Plaza first, perhaps Siskiyou at SOU if it works on the Plaza (or vice versa?), then perhaps the entire downtown couplet if appropriate: Perhaps a subcomm for the new Transportation Commission?
We should discuss it not as something we should all go read about and think about, but as a real action item, and decide whether we should or should not try it, and by when.
For example,
1. What are the salient characteristics of a successful shared space?
2. Are any of those characteristics present in Ashland and if so, where;
3. What would it take to change to a shared space, what are costs, risks/ benefits; does benefit outweigh cost, risk;
4. Set parameters: area, time frame, monitoring, review.
Sitting at the table and saying, "Hmm, that's interesting. Adjourned" may get someone else killed. We should try it, for real, if appropriate, as soon as possible.

Steve Ryan served as one of Ashland's Bicycle/Pedestrian Commissioners and was their liaison to Ashland's Traffic Safety Commission. He co-organized Ashland's Car Free Day Sept. 2008