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If you haven't driven down the lower part of Winnequah Road in Monona since yesterday, you might want to do so and check out the new variable speed display signs. They are, in a word, large. Others have offered more pungent descriptions.
The pictures don't really do it justice.
I did notice drivers slowing down when it flashed at them for exceeding the speed limit.
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| The Draegers have a new view from their bench. |
Ahhhh, here I thought they were cell phone towers to offer Monona residents better cell access while we drive.
ReplyDeleteThese devices are a safety boondoggle, Their effectiveness is short lived because people will drive within the range of speeds they have found to be safe for a particular road.
ReplyDeleteOnce they become use to the signs, their "novelty effect" wears off and the drivers return to their safety comfort zones.
People who buy these have a misplaced understanding of safety.
Roadway design and environment determines the speed of traffic, not a number on a sign.
Periodic engineering safety audits, hazard mitigation, access and flow management, minimizing cross traffic movements (roundabouts) and remedial actions accordingly assuring the safety needs of the users and residents have been met is the only true answer
Hmmm... isn't that why cars have speedometers? Seriously these are monstrous eyesores in a lovely residential area.
ReplyDelete"Boondoggle"? That's kind of a low threshold for boondoggle isn't it?
ReplyDeleteDornsife is drivers' rights activisit who wants to abolish speed limits and thinks he should be able to drive 100 mph if he wants to. Or he did when USA Today did this story six years ago.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2004-02-23-speed4_x.htm
"Seriously these are monstrous eyesores in a lovely residential area."
ReplyDeleteThe signs are in fact being relocated to more appropriate streets (TBD). New speed feedback signs will be installed Winnequah mounted on standard posts without the solar array.
Let's hope Lower Winnebago Squaw Road joins the rest of Monona in October and is subject to reasonable road traffic(about 30 mpr) on 'their' road. Why is this stretch signed and policed so differently from the rest of the badly named road?
ReplyDeleteCould it be the political clout these Winnebago Squawers have? The mayor and two recently exalders?
If they are being relocated sans the solar array, what's the story behind how they got there in the first place? Honestly, Doug, how about a 12 month moratorium on doing anything along that stretch of Winnequah? It's one goofy thing after another. Maybe everyone needs to take a deep breath and let things settle down for a bit.
ReplyDelete"If they are being relocated sans the solar array, what's the story behind how they got there in the first place?"
ReplyDeleteSpeed display signs or feedback signs were approved by Public Safety and (implicitly) by the council. When solar was added, I don't think any of us expected that would require something as big as we got. (I'm kicking myself a little because I did not inquire when I noticed the foundations being installed and wondered what was going up that needed a foundation.)
I do know that staff spent a fair amount of time and care selecting a spot with enough sun and not right in front of someone's front door. Maybe staff should have stopped and asked when the product was delivered.
But more important to me, is that the mayor quickly made the correct decision to fix the situation. He deserves a lot of credit for that.
Doug- Just wondering, how has the situation been fixed? Are the foundations permanent? I hope not for the sake of the homeowner currently trying to sell their home with one of these on their property line.
ReplyDeleteThat's just a detail I don't know at this time.
ReplyDelete"Why is this stretch signed and policed so differently from the rest.....?"
ReplyDeleteThere is a question that is a good one. Those things are eyesores. I would love to know how much money (equipment and man hours) have been spent by city staff over the last 12 months on the lower winnequah speeding problem. It may have been cheaper to higher a f/t officer for that section.
Take the solar panels and put them on city hall to run the coffee pot, extreme overkill, and I'll echo "monstrous eyesores in a lovely residential area". I get the stop signs, and I drive that way every workday, they seem to help with driver's speed. I'm glad they are not on my property, and I do care about the little kids safety on Shore Acres!
ReplyDeleteIt's not just that these signs are huge... this stretch of road is already overloaded with signage, to the point where the signs themselves are probably a safety issue. Drivers too busy trying to read the signs don't see the pedestrians/bikers. Billboards coming soon.
ReplyDeleteI thought the council was going to review pd data about speeding at their last council meeting? Does anyone know the result of that data?
ReplyDeleteHas the City received feedback that people don't know the speed limit on Winnequah Road? Why do we need more signs - solar or not? A beautiful, scenic city road is turning into a street to avoid. The stop signs were an unexpected but tolerable change, but these new signs (however short lived) are laughable. (By the way, any chance the police will start ticketing some bikers for rolling through those stop signs?)
ReplyDeleteThe signs were being taken down this morning - noticed it as I drove Winnequah (at 25 mph) on my way in to work.
ReplyDeleteHow big is a "normal-sized" speed display sign? When was this location approved? I still wouldn't want this thing in my front yard.
ReplyDeleteI see that the local estheticists have won and the signs were gone by Sept 8 AM. Where did they go?
ReplyDeleteWe certainly would not need the signs or any other measures to control traffic speed if drivers would simply drop the hubris and arrogance and simply drive within the speed limit, while giving pedestrians and bicyclists some common courtesy.
"hubris and arrogance" causes speeding?
ReplyDeleteThe signs are going to be relocated, possibly to Monona drive by the high school.
The PD has compiled some speed data. I think it's on the Public Safety Committtee web site. It showed very little change from the stop signs except in the immediate vicinity of the signs.
The signs remind people how fast they are driving if their attention drifts. They are also sort of like a big finger pointing at you, "This car is speeding!"
The signs also can track speed & count vehicles.
I'll try to adddress some of the other comments later, but, can we say 'tempest in a teapot'?
The point is that speeding on W. is a tempest in a teapot for many of us.
ReplyDeleteOne half-point awarded.
ReplyDelete