Comments by Tim Nelson

Consultants’ plan for Hwy 1 lacks awareness of our environment and community

March 04, 2010
"So you're suggesting traffic signals then? Can't have a crosswalk in the middle of an expressway otherwise, right?" I think you can, and stop calling it an expressway, it's not. The point is that you already have people crossing all over the place where there is no crosswalk. By providing officially sanctioned crossing points, you can at least make traffic aware (markings, surface treatments, islands, warning lights, etc.) that they need to yield to people crossing. "My understanding is that it…

Consultants’ plan for Hwy 1 lacks awareness of our environment and community

March 04, 2010
"Yes, apparently. How are crosswalks incorporated into roundabouts as proposed in the draft report cheap?" Hey, what about a crosswalk where there is no roundabout!? I know, it's a revolutionary concept... maybe that is just pushing the envelope too far, so I'm not surprised you were unable to conceive of it. Call me a risk-taker! Did the expert indicate that adding non-signalized intersections that slow traffic (not by maxim but by configuration) would be "illegal" in some way. Why would that be…

Consultants’ plan for Hwy 1 lacks awareness of our environment and community

March 04, 2010
David, I'm finding it difficult to have an rational discourse with you. Crosswalks are cheap and can be put anyplace where they are deemed convenient. Is it that hard to understand? You seem to be an expert on traffic laws. Do you have credentials or expertise of some sort? Read up. Pedestrians are far safer at roundabouts than signalized intersections. It's not theory. It's data on intersections that have been changed from one to the other. Cyclists are trickier, but from what I can tell, errors…

Consultants’ plan for Hwy 1 lacks awareness of our environment and community

March 03, 2010
OK, Carl (and anyone else interested,) if you want to really understand roundabouts, I suggest you read (and digest) this USDOT report: http://www.tfhrc.gov/safety/00068.htm From the first paragraphs of the introduction: "Traffic circles have been part of the transportation system in the United States since 1905, when the Columbus Circle designed by William Phelps Eno opened in NewYork City. Subsequently, many large circles or rotaries were built in the United States. The prevailing designs enabled…

Consultants’ plan for Hwy 1 lacks awareness of our environment and community

March 03, 2010
David, "We put one in this past year with the construction of our new home." Now... was this "new construction" or did you demolish an older home first?

Consultants’ plan for Hwy 1 lacks awareness of our environment and community

March 03, 2010
"Having failed to read well enough to see I did not “equate” roundabouts with traffic circles" Your original rant contained an entire paragraph about failed roundabouts in the NE US, which are in fact, not roundabouts. They are traffic circles and other types of rotaries. You can yell until you are blue in the face that "a circular intersection is a circular intersection", but to anyone that understands the difference you are simply screaming "I don't know anything about modern roundabouts".…

Consultants’ plan for Hwy 1 lacks awareness of our environment and community

March 03, 2010
"We put one in this past year with the construction of our new home. A below ground dissipator would essentially add what looks like a drainage grate to the lowest point in the underpass pavement. Below that is a big, perforated tube that catches the runoff and drains it away into the surrounding soil. In our case, it was designed to drain a 10k square foot lot and was nowhere near 1/4 mile long. Total cost was about $10k. Not really a deal breaker in the big scheme of things." Talk to a civil engineer.…

Consultants’ plan for Hwy 1 lacks awareness of our environment and community

March 03, 2010
"Any motorist knows it’s a lot easier to enter Hwy 1 by turning right than by turning left, to the point that sometimes a left turn is impossible, whereas a right turn is always possible." That's one of the main points of the roundabout. It turns everything into right turns.

Consultants’ plan for Hwy 1 lacks awareness of our environment and community

March 03, 2010
David, BTW, although it is a very painful proposition, I can see (topographic maps + satellite images) an alignment for a road against the hills from just south to south of HMB where a "big road" could be placed without robbing people of their homes. This would then allow your dream of keeping all of HMB in one piece by obliterating the current bisection of 1. It would no doubt be a VERY painful change, but it could be done, and if this were ever to be considered, now would be the time since it only…

Consultants’ plan for Hwy 1 lacks awareness of our environment and community

March 03, 2010
Hi David, I hear you, and have just downloaded the study so I can get the full context. I realize I am now arguing far beyond my original intention. I'm good with underpasses. A drainpipe... silly to bring that up. If only it were that simple. The underpasses in SB are probably at least 10 feet more above sea level than these, and they have major flooding problems with them. The problem is that the bottom of them is well below any existing drainpipe. So, implementing them means building drainage…

Consultants’ plan for Hwy 1 lacks awareness of our environment and community

March 03, 2010
Sorry... replied before I had all my thoughts together. Carl was dead on with underpass flooding and drainage problems. This is a very tricky area to try to implement anything ten feet below grade, and it may be simply impossible. Construction of an underpass is a very expensive proposition. If I had to guess, I would say a nice wide, attractive one would be at least a few hundred thousand dollars. Any roundabout required would likely fit within the existing right-of-way, which is generally quite…

Consultants’ plan for Hwy 1 lacks awareness of our environment and community

March 03, 2010
"I’d be willing to bet we could get every major roadside attraction between HMB and Montara serviced by underpasses for the price of a single roundabout (no further property to acquire, no bigger footprint for road surfaces)." I'll take that bet. $10,000 right now. Call a contractor. In fact, I'll bet a single underpass costs much more than a roundabout, maybe 10X as much. Having also endorsed overpasses and underpasses, I'm not fixating on one solution. You are.

Consultants’ plan for Hwy 1 lacks awareness of our environment and community

March 02, 2010
Carl, With all due respect, you seem like a smart guy, but you did post misinformation about roundabouts. You equated modern roundabouts to old traffic circles that have completely different right-of-way rules and design criteria. They are related in shape only. If you don't understand this, then you are clearly not familiar enough with modern roundabouts and how they work to comment on them. Period. I have not stated that roundabouts alone can solve pedestrian issues. Read my posts again. On reconfiguring:…

Consultants’ plan for Hwy 1 lacks awareness of our environment and community

March 02, 2010
Yeah... but that's a picture of someone else's roundabout. Nobody says yours has to look just like that. You can have your shoulders and your roundabouts too! Shall I post a picture??

Consultants’ plan for Hwy 1 lacks awareness of our environment and community

March 02, 2010
Wow... getting seriously late here... must give up. Sabrina's description inspires a last comment. The whole magic of the modern roundabout seems to be that there is a well defined formula for the approaches: the splitter, the angle at which the roads join, the radius, everything. That formula has been re-re-re-refined to create the smoothest flow... slowing you just enough at entry to the perfect speed for the circle which in smaller circles is plenty slow to spot and stop for pedestrians and the…

Consultants’ plan for Hwy 1 lacks awareness of our environment and community

March 02, 2010
David, Seriously. Regarding fire engines. Are you envisioning Hwy 1 with no significant intersections (with lights)? I don't see how that is possible. You only put a roundabout at more significant intersections where you want to pass a lot of intersecting traffic without slowing it down with a light. When placed properly, roundabouts pass more traffic than similar lighted intersections. It's not like your hypothetical fire truck needs to slow down any more at a roundabout than it would at the same…

Consultants’ plan for Hwy 1 lacks awareness of our environment and community

March 02, 2010
Carl, I jumped in because you were spouting misinformation about something you don't understand as fact. I have tried to keep my discussion on the point of rebutting your tirade about roundabouts, but have not pushed any conclusion regarding the "right plan". In my first post I stated, front and center: "I’m not going to pretend I can pass judgement on the plans as a whole..." Was there some part of that statement that was unclear? I haven't even read the plan, but you know, when my day job allows…

Consultants’ plan for Hwy 1 lacks awareness of our environment and community

March 02, 2010
Sabrina... good question. I'm guessing different folks have different objections. You know, stopping (or worse, stopping and waiting) is what really slows you down. However, approaching a roundabout every half mile or so... you slow down from 60mph to 20 in a few hundred feet. Maybe you even have to stop for a few seconds because there is traffic in the roundabout, but even in the busiest traffic a break comes quickly, someone turning into the road you are coming from, and you enter the roundabout…

Consultants’ plan for Hwy 1 lacks awareness of our environment and community

March 02, 2010
David, Apologies if you thought I disregarded your mention of underpasses or overpasses. I didn't, but having mentioned them already in my reply (before I read into your response to where you suggested them) I didn't come back to reiterate the point. I agree that they are a fine idea if needed. However, that is an expensive and not always aesthetically pleasing solution. Even taking bicycle and pedestrian traffic out of the equation still leaves a significant problem with automobiles. I believe the…

Consultants’ plan for Hwy 1 lacks awareness of our environment and community

March 02, 2010
David- The difference with pedestrians is that in Europe, drivers have correctly learned when, and how, to stop for pedestrian traffic. If there is a situation where it is dangerous or inefficient for the two to mix, a pedestrian over or underpass is usually constructed. It is just a matter of studying density and seeing if that is necessary here. As for cyclists... I'm not sure what you mean. Serious cyclists belong in the flow of traffic and not in the crosswalks, though I can understand providing…

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