Thursday, August 12, 2010

Bicycle Signal at Vancouver Convention Center

I attended the ITE Annual Meeting in Vancouver BC.
I found a lot of similarities between what Vancouver is trying to create with their traffic signal system and overall transportation network and what we're doing in Portland. I only spent a day there and it was somewhat limited in how much I was able to explore. There were several notable applications that are worth further consideration, yet those aren't specifically coming from the Signals Division of PBOT, it's really based in the Traffic Engineering group which would change the intersection configuration significantly and lead to a need for a bicycle signal. That's not entirely true, but we somehow need to move forward with more improvements to increase the safety and convenience of people on bicycles. In this example, the engineers spent some time finding a way to separate cyclists and pedestrians along the pathway that connects around the entire downtown.
The intersection design principles are fascinating because it is a field that needs some research and there's a great opportunity for increases in participation.

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