GUEST COLUMNIST: Myths on campus transportation

In the present search for improvements of traffic and transportation in the campus area, there are a number of misconceptions which create misinformation and confuse issues. The most common misconceptions are explained here. 1. "Walnut and Chestnut Streets are state highways, therefore speeds on them cannot be reduced." No law says that state highways must have high speed limits. Lower speeds and pedestrian crossings, at intersections and midblock, exist on many state highways. Actually, Lancaster Avenue is a federal highway and it has low speed limits, pedestrian crossings, etc. 2. "We need a pedestrian overpass over Walnut Street at Annenberg." No, we don't. Pedestrians should not be removed from streets to speed up vehicular traffic. Overpasses would be expensive, visually disastrous and nobody would use them: Would people climb and descend 15 feet instead of crossing three lanes at street level? 3. "There cannot be a pedestrian crossing without signals at midblock locations." 4. "Midblock crossings do not work, as those on 34th and 33rd streets show." These crossings are confusing because nobody knows what the blinking yellow signal means. Eventually, drivers learn to simply ignore them, so that such signals are useless and confusing. They should be replaced either by "Yield to pedestrians" signs or by regular signals. 5. "Pedestrian crossing over Convention Avenue at SEPTA's Regional Rail station is prohibited because it is dangerous." That crossing has been made dangerous by prohibition and disregard for pedestrians, and yet over 500 pedestrians cross that street during every peak period without any protection against fast cars on a wide street designed for fast traffic. Why should dozens of pedestrians yield to cars with one person? Because the car is stronger? It is time we introduce traffic calming measures and give rights to pedestrians, not only to car drivers. 6. "There is a demand for 3,500 more parking spaces in the campus area." It is very popular in the short run to provide ample parking; in the long run, large parking facilities, subsidized and rented on semester-basis, are harmful to the character of the campus area. No campus or any urban area which relies heavily on access by car can be friendly to pedestrians, attractive for social events and livable. There are already many large garages around the campus. Control of parking supply and prices is the most effective tool for discouraging excessive travel by car and promoting use of transit, bicycles and walking, which make the campus more lively, safe and attractive. 7. "Most students and faculty do not use transit." True, but that is a problem that should be addressed, not a cause for worsening this harmful imbalance favoring cars over transit. Demand for transit is strongly influenced by the relative convenience and cost of riding transit and driving cars. Making SEPTA Blue and Green Line stations more attractive and safe, integrating fares with student ID cards and providing good information about the service could lead to a very significant increase in transit use. 8. "Traffic enforcement is done by Philadelphia police; control of speed on Walnut and other streets is difficult; bicycles and pedestrians cannot be controlled." Traffic laws can be enforced by both city and University Police. Ticketing the speeders even randomly, a couple of times a week, would quickly result in significant speed reductions. Illegal behavior of bicyclists and reckless behavior by some pedestrians can also be controlled by Police warnings and, if necessary, ticketing. 9. "Bike lanes must be on roadways, they cannot be on sidewalks." The law says that bicycles should use roadways, not sidewalks. But it does not prohibit clearly marked bicycle lanes on wide sidewalks. On the south side of Walnut Street and north side of Spruce Street, for example, bicycle lanes could be easily marked and they would greatly reduce the present nuisance and hazard of bicycling in both directions. Such lanes are used extensively and safely in all countries which have wide use of bicycles, such as Germany, Netherlands and Denmark. 10. "Car users are paying their way, transit is subsidized." No, actually car driving is also heavily subsidized and many of its social costs (congestion, noise, impacts of traffic and parking on the character of the campus) are not paid by the motorists at all. The University invests millions of dollars in parking garages and, so far, virtually nothing in transit and bicycle facilities.

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