City of Lawrence

TRAFFIC ENGINEERING DIVISION

MEMORANDUM

TO:              Charles Soules, Director of Public Works

                   Terese Gorman, City Engineer

FROM:         David Woosley, Transportation/Traffic Engineer

DATE:           11 April 2006

SUBJECT:     Traffic Safety Commission

          9^th Street & Connecticut Street

At the March 6, 2006, Traffic Safety Commission meeting, the commission heard a request to mark crosswalks at the intersection of 9^th Street & Connecticut Street.

The commission did not recommend marking the crosswalks, but did recommend marking a STOP LINE on each approach to the intersection; the vote was 5-2.  The commission is very concerned about giving pedestrians a false sense of security, particularly children who may not be as careful, expecting that a marked crosswalk will make crossing the street safer, when in actuality, it probably won’t.  A recent study of 2000 crosswalks, half marked and half unmarked, found that on a 2-lane street, a marked crosswalk is no safer than an unmarked crosswalk.

If additional information is needed, please let me know.