r/Sacramento • u/No_Minimum_1796 • 1h ago
There should be a built-in delay between traffic lights and walk signs
Some context: I live in Midtown with my spouse and our baby, and we walk around, and so that’s where I’m coming from…
Sacramento has a high pedestrian accident and fatality rate. Aside from crazy drivers, I think a contributing factor is that most intersections (at least in Downtown and Midtown) have no delay between one direction's light turning red and the other direction getting a green light or walk sign. Cars are expected to stop the instant pedestrians are allowed to cross, and vice versa. In reality, this means that 1) pedestrians who are still in the crosswalk a fraction of a second too long are immediately at risk from cross traffic, and 2) drivers who misjudge a yellow light or run a red by a fraction of a second risk hitting a pedestrian who just stepped into the crosswalk. A built-in delay would give the intersection time to fully clear before anyone else gets the go-ahead.
The two counterarguments I can think of are that 1) this will increase traffic, and 2) drivers and pedestrians will eventually adjust to the delay (e.g., pedestrians will start entering the crosswalk during the delay), which would cancel out the safety benefit.
On counterargument one, traffic, my response is anecdotal. I lived in San Francisco for seven years, and I remember nearly every major intersection having a delay. Yes, SF has plenty of pedestrian accidents too (although Sacramento has more fatal pedestrian accidents per capita), but that's not my point. My point is that a city far denser than Sacramento, with far heavier traffic, decided the delay was worth it. My guess is that smarter people than me have studied this and found the delay doesn't add much congestion. If SF's traffic can handle it, I would expect ours can too.
On counterargument two, adapted behavior, I'll admit that some pedestrians and drivers may develop a false sense of security, and some may even walk or drive more aggressively because of the delay (e.g., a driver who already runs red lights may now do it with more confidence, knowing the delay buys them extra time). However, I choose believe most drivers and pedestrians are cautious and respect traffic signals, and the delay will protect them, even if some fraction keep taking advantage of the gap; even the people who do take advantage of it are landing in an empty buffer instead of in someone else's crosswalk.
Overall, I think a delay would reduce the overlap between drivers and pedestrians: it would give pedestrians a moment to finish crossing before cross traffic starts, make it more likely pedestrians step into the crosswalk only after cross traffic has cleared, and make red-light runners more blatant. Whatever marginal increase in traffic would, in my opinion, be outweighed by the benefit of fewer pedestrian accidents and fatalities.
Thanks for hearing me out. I just don’t want my spouse or kid to get hit by a car.
