A pedestrian perspective.
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RECOMMENDED READING
By Sandy James:
Wayne Curtis’s new book, The Last Great Walk, documents the 1909 journey of Edward Payson Weston who walked from New York to San Francisco in 105 days at the age of 70.
Wayne uses Mr. Weston’s story to explore the American shift away from foot travel, and the potential benefits of its return. From the connection between our brains and mode of locomotion, to the pedestrian discouraging design of American cities, Wayne examines how walking, or not walking affects our health, environment and national identity. Not walking, he argues, may be one of the most radical things humans have ever done.
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HOW DID THE SENIOR CROSS THE ROAD?
If in Singapore, with a Green Man Plus card that gives seniors additional time to cross the road.
The Green Man Plus system lets qualified individuals use a specially activated card to request additional time at pedestrian crossings. The card holder taps a card–one that generally also holds transit funds–on a special sensor on a light pole, located above the normal button to request a cross signal.
The timing system recognizes the request and adds about 6 seconds to the crosswalk counter.
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Or you could just take away lanes and narrow the road. I saw a poor elderly soul trying to cross the 2nd Avenue Freeway at Main Street yesterday, you would need an hour to cross that Stroad.
Hmm. Why not install some sensors and keep the light green until the person has finished crossing? Seems cheaper and more effective than handing out cards to a select people. England is doing something like that already. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puffin_crossing
Would be very nice to have in Vancouver, there are lots of lights operating at the minimum 1.2m/s that seniors and kids can’t make. And while they are at it, there are lots of lights that senior cyclists or young cyclists can’t make unless a pedestrian also presses the button to cross…