Reply to DC - "No Right Turn On Red"

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Reply to "DC - "No Right Turn On Red" - Why????"

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I've just noticed all the "new" (to me) signs for No Turn On Red.  Why?  It seems more dangerous for pedestrians crossing the street as cars that have been obeying the law (sitting there with no traffic coming, now try to turn while pedestrians/bikes are crossing.  When are the cars supposed to go, especially on pedestrian heavy crosswalks?  Sigh...I need to start going to the council meetings.[/quote]

Because Right Turn On Red is dangerous for pedestrians, and we have known that since at least the mid 1980s.

[b]The drivers are supposed to turn on green, when there's nobody in the crosswalk[/b]. If there's somebody in the crosswalk when you have a green light, then you should wait. [/quote]

At a busy intersection, this will never happen if they don't delay the Walk signal for pedestrians!!  I've been nearly hit multiple times while in the crosswalk, with the walk signal, as cars turn in front of me or behind me trying to make the light!  Let them turn on red!  Put red light cameras to catch those people that don't come to a complete stop.
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To be fair, I have noticed an increase in the delayed light changes for pedestrians in concert with the no turn on red signs in DC along my commute.[/quote]

It's not delayed light changes for pedestrians, it's delayed light changes for drivers. Pedestrians get a walk sign, then a few seconds later drivers get a green light. So pedestrians get a head start on crossing, before the drivers start turning. That's only effective if there's also no turn on red for drivers. [/quote]

This is a strawman argument - the delayed light for drivers gives pedestrians a head start and then creates an open window (at nearly every intersection) for drivers to turn right on the green light. I drive all over DC - in neighborhoods and downtown - at different times of the day and this works well. The only times there are "throngs" of pedestrians crossing for an entire light cycle are at a handful of busy intersections during rush hour. And it would be (and is) foolish to use those outliers as the basis for not protecting pedestrians more broadly across the city. The 'no turn on red' has taken some getting used to. However, I can absolutely tell that the streets are safer for cyclists/walkers because of it.[/quote]

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