A Close Call at a Dangerous Intersection
Changes need to be made at the intersection of Broadway and Richardson Loop to prevent an inevitable tragedy.
For a few months now, whenever I get the opportunity, I’ve been taking pictures of people walking, biking, and utilizing wheelchairs or mobility scooters. Tonight I noticed a man approaching the intersection of Broadway and Richardson Loop on foot, so I prepared to take a few pictures. I ended up capturing an unexpected, but unsurprising, encounter.
A pedestrian was nearly struck by a van
Let me set the stage for you. The light was green for left-turn traffic turning from southbound Broadway onto eastbound Richardson Loop. In layman’s terms, that’s green for those turning left from the Pruett’s side to head into town. Here’s a map in case you understand pictures better, like I do:
The man walked around the right side of the traffic light pole and watched to see if he was safe to cross. Seeing no vehicles going through the intersection, he started to cross. When he was about halfway through the intersection, a service van reached the intersection and began to turn left.
When the van was almost halfway through the intersection, the light turned green for northbound traffic on Broadway. This tells me the van either ran a red light, or entered the intersection at the very end of a yellow.
A couple seconds after the light changed, the van reached a point where the driver saw the man crossing. At this point he starting slowing down.
At this point, my vision failed me. It was nearly dark at the time and based on the man’s pace, I thought he made it fully across. As such, I was surprised that the van came to a full stop for a couple seconds after reaching the crosswalk.
My camera captured the reality. The van reached the man just before he made it all the way across. Fortunately the driver saw him and was able to stop, avoiding a collision. Hopefully this incident sticks in the van driver’s mind for a while, and prompts some safer driving.
I’m sure the man walking won’t soon forget.
Let’s think about this intersection from the point of view of a pedestrian
Aspects of this intersection that protect pedestrians:
Pedestrian island in median, halfway across the roadway
Aspects of this intersection that make it dangerous for pedestrians:
No sidewalks
No pedestrian signals
No painted crosswalks
Approach speed limit of 35mph or 45mph, depending on direction
Limited lighting
Pedestrian cutout is a car length behind the stop line, forcing pedestrians to cross between stopped vehicles
There is plenty of discussion that could be had about various aspects of this, and I’d love to get into those in the comments. Please leave a comment and let’s have a civil discussion!
The reason I became concerned with this intersection a few months ago is because I noticed a number of people crossing this intersection to reach Pruett’s grocery store, and some of them in wheelchairs/mobility scooters.
Here’s an example. What if this woman had been in the place of the man in this situation? Would the van driver have seen her and stopped in time?
The design is the problem - let’s change it
Slow-moving, less-protected road users are called Vulnerable Road Users (VRUs) for a reason. This intersection is traversed by VRUs - people - of all ages who need to reach Pruett’s to buy groceries. In places like this, the intersection cannot be designed solely to move vehicles in the most efficient manner. It must also be designed to protect its most vulnerable users. If not, it’s only a matter of time before someone is met with tangible harm.
“The intersection cannot be designed solely to move vehicles in the most efficient manner. It must also be designed to protect its most vulnerable users.”
I am working on a proposal to bring to the city on how this intersection, and the stretches of roadway that meet there, can be improved from a safety standpoint. My hope is that the city - and ODOT, who controls this intersection - are receptive and enthusiastic about making critical safety improvements.
I’ve been told that a key piece of the argument for making a change like this is proving it is necessary. To do that, I’m going to call on the help of you readers.
If you see people walking at this intersection or the roads leading up to it, please safely take a photo or video and email it to me.
Collecting these bits of evidence of necessity will go a long way toward convincing the controlling entities that it is worth pursuing these changes.
I hope to do a full post soon describing the proposal I’m developing - but these things take lots of thought, and therefore take time.
Thank you for reading. I hope you are as concerned and hungry for change as I am.
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