Nataniel Cox: The danger of unauthorized crosswalks in the middle of Alameda

Seems to be a Saturday like any other at Nataniel Cox and Alameda. Vehicles pass quickly, some are resting on the grass of Plaza Bulnes and others are simply crossing the square.

But the picture is no longer the same as before. There is something different from other days.

On the road south of the Alameda, before turning a few meters to the right —where the pedestrian crossing is, since it is not direct— a few people suspend their itinerary for a few seconds and stop to observe an improvised animita which is on the post, on one side of the fence. The space features flowers in water and flowers hanging, a heart-shaped stuffed animal, and the last remnants of melted candles.

The construction site, set up very recently, was carried out for one purpose: to remember someone who died there.

The above dates back to the afternoon of Friday June 9, when a woman was struck and killed by a RED bus which turned at this corner due to a traffic diversion. The victim would have crossed the street directly, from one corner to the other, despite the fact that the pedestrian crossing is about 35 meters away. Some recordings that have been released from earlier times show several people crossing there, but for a few seconds they managed to do so before the bus turned.

At the time of accident there was no type of two-way signage to inform pedestrians that crossing was prohibited in that space or that the level crossing was a few meters away. In one of the corners, there was also no fence that prevented the passage of individuals.

The tragic event caused great emotion for several days and also caused controversy, since in the following days recordings went viral showing that some people continued to cross in space despite the fatal accident.

Another milestone that happened in those early days was that the street awoke to several handmade signs that sought to alert other passers-by to the risks of walking straight through the intersection. “Danger, do not cross. Pedestrian crossing. A woman has already died , reads the message. It also indicates with arrows the specific direction in which those passing through the site should go and may not be aware of the existence of the half-block crossing.

On Saturday afternoon, craft posters and something else were still going on: two green signs warning that the pedestrian crossing is 35 meters away. They were installed on June 16, the municipality of Santiago reported. And in the corner where before there was no fence, there is now.

But will this measure change anything? Could it prevent pedestrians from crossing directly? How useful is it still that the crosswalk forces people to take a detour from their path?

The third consulted two experts in transportation and road design on the complexities that these streets entail and the possible transformation that could be implemented to avoid further accidents in the future. That’s what they said.

“No action has been taken to correct this intersection and prevent more people from getting injured and dying due to poor design and signage,” says Ariel López, a transportation engineer specializing in urban planning.

His remarks are due to the fact that the death which occurred on June 9 is not the only one which has occurred for the same reason in recent years. In May 2011, a 34-year-old woman died after being hit by a Transantiago bus at the corner of Nataniel Cox and Alameda. Another victim was injured on the same occasion. According to the media that covered the news, the women crossed an unauthorized passage.

López is clear on the diagnosis of what is happening in this space: “The intersection is designed according to an outdated standard that favors the time of motorists to the detriment of the time of pedestrians” .

The university also in transportation engineering from UTEM and UNAB recalls that several years ago cars were allowed to turn south from Alameda by Nataniel Cox. There, an obstacle was generated, as the large number of pedestrians crossing the square were mixed with the multiple vehicles that wanted to turn.

“The technicians at the time moved the pedestrian crossing 35 meters to the south, a sufficient distance to contain the length of the line of vehicles. But they no longer turn cars, only buses and in fewer numbers. It is not justified to keep pedestrians away from the crossroads so much, ”says the transport engineer.

Diego Edwards, an architect specializing in road design, also has a very clear diagnosis of what is happening in the neighborhood: the design of road safety is not in accordance with the uses and needs of people .

“When we make designs that aren’t respected, it’s both the fault, not just the users. If they are illogical or unintuitive, these situations happen” recount.

Another problematic element to consider is that, according to experts, the pole in the area where the accident occurred is installed at a distance less than that recommended. Worse still, it is located at the curb, which makes it even more dangerous if pedestrians are also crossing in that direction and a vehicle is turning at the time.

“Low vertical markers should be placed to prevent vehicles from climbing onto the pavement, as also happened in this case. Buses, when they make their wrong move, lift their rear wheels to the sidewalk and this endangers pedestrians who are waiting standing to cross the street. warns López.

Regarding the presence of green signs guiding the population, which were not there at the time of the accident and which were only put in place recently, Edwards believes that they could serve as a complement to the pedestrian route. However, he points out that if passers-by always seem to disregard the restrictions, it’s because the design just doesn’t work, even though those elements are present.

The architect explains that when this type of conflict arises, the ideal is to think about how the space could be transformed so that pedestrians can circulate in complete safety.

“Naturally, people don’t feel it as much of a shelter as an obstacle. , something like ‘why do I have to go almost half a block and then another back? So that the cars can turn quietly?’. These things that are not very logical begin to overflow and that is why it happens that people later do not respect the rules of the road, ”explains the expert.

The two experts agree on another thing: the intersection being poorly designed and not harmonious with pedestrians, an optimal solution would be to modify it.

“Signalling it properly on both sides and putting a pedestrian gate should be the immediate solution. But in the short term, it needs to be redesigned because the reason that led to the move away from the pedestrian crossing no longer exists, the paradigm with which this intersection was designed is obsolete,” says López. And he adds that this road contradicts the pyramid of urban mobility, which has the pedestrian as the first priority.

And how could I modify the intersection, then?

For López, the most effective, functional and simple way to rethink “It’s about restoring the direct pedestrian crossing, where today people pass irregularly, and that this respects the fact of being in the imaginary projection of the sidewalks to avoid conflicts with turning vehicles. A third phase should also be added to the traffic light, allowing buses and pedestrians to pass at different times. This is the traditional way these conflicts are resolved.

For his part, Edwards also believes that this measure could help improve the road conflicts that arise in the region: “It would take away a bit of fluidity from motorized transport, maybe vehicles would have to wait longer to pass through this corner, but preference would be given to the most important user, which is the pedestrian. You have to think that it is the main user of public space” .

If this were implemented, experts predict, there would be no need to force people to swerve half a block and another back just to cross the street.

“It’s symbolic,” López says of the handmade posters locals put up after the crash they witnessed.

And adds: “But it shows the helpless state that pedestrians are in, traffic institutions are generally concerned about vehicle traffic, and it seems they don’t care much about people” .