I love that Lincoln will have 80% coverage of countdown crosswalks by the end of next year. I'm not sure how much good they do for pedestrians, particularly outside of Downtown, but for drivers the signals are extremely helpful. I use the signals to help time my approach to intersections, which in turn helps me keep my gas mileage up.
Now if we could just get Lincoln to implement flashing lights at non-major intersections after, say, 10:30pm. That one will probably never happen, but I'll continue to gripe about it just in case my whining does any good.
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I wonder if they could find similar funds to install more stop signs around the city, particularly in residential areas.
May I ask why? Unmarked intersections are quite simple to navigate.
I like the countdown signals as well for the same reason, especially when it’s snowy/icy.
Navigating unmarked intersections is simple if 1.) you realize they are unmarked (unmarked intersections are pretty unusual in the cities that I have lived in) 2.) you know the “unwritten” traffic rules about which street is expected to yield and which has priority.
In our neighborhood, things work fine until someone not familiar with the local double secret priority system is nearly T-boned by a local sailing down the “priority” street. The yielding rules described in the Nebraska Driver’s manual are definitely not practiced for many areas of Lincoln.
Maybe I am overreacting to the incidents that I seem witness regularly, but it seems like such an easy fix.
I’m sympathetic to the “local rules” problem—my neighborhood does the same thing. There are two solutions. One is to put up stop and yield signs all over town. The other is for people to follow the law, or put up with the consequences if they don’t. Personally I prefer the latter, if only for cost reasons.
There are exceptions where the City has created some dangerous situations and they should be remedied by signage. Beaver Creek Lane, near Humann Elementary, is an example of an airport runway mistakenly placed in the middle of a neighborhood. Technically its intersections are 4-way yields, but the road’s girth implies that its traffic takes priority. In cases like that—there are several around town—the side roads should be given yield signs.
I like them, so I know I need to gun it to beat the yellow. Not sure that’s what they had in mind, but it works for me.
The “unwritten rules” are written down in the Nebraska driver’s manual. People who get a license need to test on that manual. It shouldn’t be that hard to figure.
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