WHY WONT THIS CHICKEN CROSS THE ROAD HAVE

WHY WON’T THIS CHICKEN CROSS THE ROAD?

HAVE YOU SEEN THE ROAD?

What Makes it Dangerous to Cross a Street? • Vehicle Speed • Number of Vehicles • Number of Pedestrians (affected by attractions on the other side) • Lack of Pedestrian facilities – marked or active crosswalks, stop signs

The Effects of Speed – Part I They can’t stop when they see the kid Vehicle Stopping Distances 20 MPH 63 feet 30 MPH 109 feet 40 MPH 164 feet 50 MPH 229 feet 60 MPH 265 feet Perspective: A driver who is going 40 mph will have gone halfway across Bellaire Beach before he can stop and that’s after he sorts out that he must. Source: www. nacto. org

The Effects of Speed – Part II People Die When Cars Hit Them Likelihood That a Crash Will Kill the Pedestrian (the cars and drivers never die) 20 MPH 30 MPH 40 MPH 50 MPH 60 MPH 10% 25% 50% 75% 90% Perspective: These are human averages. A child, whose head and chest are more likely to be hit, has a far lower chance of surviving being hit by a car Source: AAA Foundation

Attractions – Why do People Cross Roads? They want or need to get to something on the other side • • Beaches – draw big crowds on warm Minnesota days Parks with lakeshore Safe Passage – often the safest path is on the other side Lake access – docks, boats and privately owned land across the highway from where people live

Why does Lake Links care? You’re trying to build a trail Following a road or crossing it – they’re still our kids! People must cross a road to get to a trail on the other side. The same things that most endanger people crossing streets also endanger people traveling next to them – SPEED, AND TRAFFIC VOLUME

(DRUM ROLL) So Here They Are – Our opinion about the places most dangerous for a chicken to cross these roads.

Bellaire Beach #5 Street Crossing Danger Length – 320’ Owners: Ramsey County, WB Twp Posted Speed: 30 Often Observed: 35 -40 Attractions: Bellaire Beach is the largest public beach on the south side, serving that entire area Pedestrian Amenities: Stop signs at Bellaire reduce pedestrian risk, but no marked crosswalk anywhere at this intersection. Traffic Count: 3, 950 Vehicles per day per MNDOT Sidewalks: None Complications: 1, 350 cars on Bellaire as well

Mahtomedi DEC #4 Street Crossing Danger Length – 500’ Owners: MNDOT, Mahtomedi Posted Speed: 30 Often Observed: 35 -40 Attractions: Streetcar Trail along east side, major recreation area at DEC – only one serving north Mahtomedi Pedestrian Amenities: None. Currently no marked crosswalks between Yacht Club and Hickory Traffic Count: 5, 700 Vehicles per day per MNDOT Sidewalks: Streetcar Trail, east side Visibility: Excellent, especially at Neptune

Yacht Club #3 Street Crossing Danger Length – 700’ Owners: MNDOT, Dellwood Posted Speed: 35 Often Observed: 40 -45 Attractions: Yacht Club facilities and parking located on both sides of busy highway Pedestrian Amenities: Marked crosswalk at Yacht Club, little observed, sign obscured by tree Traffic Count: 4, 100 Vehicles per day per MNDOT Sidewalks: None Complications: Golf carts traveling wrong way on shoulders

South Shore Docks #2 Street Crossing Danger Length – 1, 400’ Owners: Ramsey County, WBL, WB Twp Posted Speed: 30 Often Observed: 35 -40 Attractions: White Bear Township Lake Access, 30 docks, 50 boats, Pedestrian Amenities: Crosswalk at Summit, Traffic Count: 3, 950 Vehicles per day per MNDOT Sidewalks: None Complications: Narrow shoulders at some points, poor visibility at 120

North Shore #1 Street Crossing Danger Length – 4000’ Owners: MNDOT, WBL, WB Twp Posted Speed: 40 Often Observed: 50 Attractions: Ramsey County Beach, Township Beach, White Bear Beach Community Club, Twenty Privately Owned Front Yards, 18 docks, 30 boats, Rutherford Park Pedestrian Amenities: Active Crosswalk at Pacific; Marked Crosswalk at Portland Traffic Count: 11, 000 Vehicles per day per MNDOT Sidewalks: None Complications: Nearly 6, 000 cars on Portland Northwest

What do the numbers look like? • Six miles discussed here - (excluding White Bear Lake and the small streets of Birchwood) • In that six miles are six marked crosswalks – Hickory, Ash, Summit, Pacific (pedestrian activate) Portland Yacht Club – one per mile. • No reasonable way for most people to use a crosswalk • Traveling clockwise on these roads, there is only one stop sign – at Bellaire DOES THAT SEEM SAFE TO YOU?

Okay tough guy, whatcha gonna do? • Active crosswalks at important location • Stop signs, stoplights and better signage • Lower speeds and effective enforcement WILL YOU HELP?