Pedestrian scramble update
If you read my previous post about pedestrian scrambles, you know that it’s not the newest dance craze sweeping the nation, but rather an experiment by the City of San Antonio at improving vehicular and pedestrian traffic downtown by installing “exclusive pedestrian phases” at more than a dozen intersections. I was back downtown again today for a meeting with some colleagues and discovered two more intersections with the new setup that I missed last time: Navarro at Crocket and Navarro at College. Also, all of the locations along Commerce, Market, and Dolorosa that had not been activated last time were now online. Alas, though, still none at Convention Plaza.
While walking to lunch with my colleagues, we stopped for a “don’t walk” signal at one of the scramble intersections. One of them noticed that the signal for vehiclular traffic headed our direction was green but that we had a “don’t walk” signal and instinctively realized that something was amiss. Ah, she must not have read my blog! (Doesn’t everybody?) After I explained what was afoot (pun completely intended), she commented that she was really happy with the new configuration and couldn’t wait to cross diagonally– it was like being able to finally do something that had long been verboten.
While out and about, I noticed many other people taking advantage of the diagonal crossing ability. I did see a couple of instances, though, where people were crossing against the light and obstructing turning vehicles, thus thwarting the intent of the project. Over time, I’m sure people will understand and adjust to the changes.
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