New pedestrian lights aim to increase safety

By Steven Verbug - Wisconsin State Journal - December 15, 2010

Madison is installing new types of bright, flashing traffic controls aimed at giving pedestrians and bicyclists a fighting chance to safely cross busy streets.

Starting Thursday at noon, anyone pedaling or walking on East Mifflin Street will be able to press a button to stop traffic on North Blair Street. And last month button-activated, flashing caution lights went into service to help pedestrians crossing East Johnson Street at North Fourth Street near East High School.

Both are among the latest in street safety technology and are among the first of their kinds in Wisconsin, said Brian Smith, a city traffic engineer.

"I'm sure there will be more of them," Smith said. "We'll probably have to come up with a system for prioritizing which intersections get them."

The signals facing traffic on Blair will stay dark until someone pushes one of the buttons that have been installed near the sidewalks and bike lanes on Mifflin.

The traffic lights will flash yellow for 3 seconds to get attention of approaching motorists, then turn steady yellow for 3.5 seconds and red to stop traffic for 16 seconds. After that, the signal will blink red for six seconds and then go dark for at least 35 seconds before it can be reactivated, Smith said.

"We don't want Blair Street backed up too much," he said.

After the red light is on to stop traffic on Blair, lights for bicyclists and pedestrians will signal that it's safe for them to cross Blair. The stop sign on Mifflin at Blair will remain in place to control

Pedestrians and bicyclists don't have to use the signals if they can cross during a normal gap in traffic. Smith said he expected the buttons will be pushed most frequently from 4 to 6 p.m.

"Blair Street at certain times of the day can be very difficult to cross," Smith said. "There have been requests in the past for some types of controls."