Columbia Mayor Hindman works to improve intersection safety for walking & bicycling

A recent lawsuit over the injury of a bicyclist in a Columbia intersection brought the issue of traffic signal timings to the fore.

The bicyclist's lawyer argued that a period of "all red" lights at the intersection might have prevented the collision.

The court ruled that the city was not required to program the all-red signals. But, argues Columbia Mayor Darwin Hindman, it is still an idea worth pursuing:

Hindman, an avid cyclist, has been fighting to improve Columbia’s streets and intersections throughout his tenure in office. His daughter was injured while riding her bike at the intersection of Providence and Stewart roads in 2003. Though Nov. 3 was not the first time he has proposed such a plan for all-red delays, the personal injury lawsuit put the issue back in the spotlight.

“I have proposed it before, but it kind of gets lost,” he said. “The lawsuit raises the awareness of the issue by having a case where it was argued that somebody might not have been hurt had you had the delay.”

While pedestrian countdown displays have been added to many intersections in Columbia, MoDOT took down the displays at the intersection of College and Rollins in the fall of 2006 — a year after the accident. Although there is a pedestrian walkway over College between Ashland and Rollins, the intersection is still busy on work days.

MoDOT sees some practical difficulties in implementing the policy:

Campbell, the MoDOT intermediate traffic studies specialist, said MoDOT likes to keeps its traffic signals consistent across the entire state “so drivers know what to expect from one intersection to another.” And most of MoDOT’s signals do not have the delay.

The decision to use the all-red delay at a particular intersection is based on several factors, he said.

“What we do is measure the intersection and take into account the speeds, and we use an equation that has different factors it takes into account," he said. "Really what changes the clearance time from intersection to intersection is mostly dependent on the speeds of the cars and size of the intersection.” . . .

MoDOT’s policy on the state-wide consistency could pose a problem to the mayor’s plan.

“To change our signals only in Columbia would place those signals out of compliance with that policy,” Campbell said. “Before MoDOT would do that, we would need a compelling reason to rethink the way they are currently timed.” . . .

The mayor thinks the plan would have a universally positive effect on Columbia’s streets.

“Bicycles are the most efficient form of human movement there is,” he said. “It doesn’t pollute, it gives you exercise, it relieves congestions and it is cheap. I think the bicycles, the pedestrians and cars will be better off if you have that four-way delay.”

Read the complete article in the Columbia Missourian.

One wonders whether MoDOT's policy even considers any factors beyond motorized traffic. Surely it is reasonable to program a traffic signal differently in a city with high pedestrian traffic vs in a rural location?