Crossing the Street in Grand Junction — Dangerous or Not? [POLL]

With the most recent pedestrian fatality on Horizon Drive and others over the last few years, is it safe to cross the streets in Grand Junction?

The Horizon Drive accident that killed Matthew Bandelin is the most recent car-pedestrian accident in the city but isn't unique.

While jaywalking and walking against the light cause car-pedestrian accidents, one Grand Junction resident, Susan Levandrie, said in an interview with KJCT-TV, even using a crosswalk can be dangerous. She uses the crosswalk at 12th and Patterson several times a week and says she runs out of time to cross almost every time.

Grand Junction uses the 2009 MUTCD guidelines which calculates the pedestrian clearance interval at 3.5 feet per second. The guidelines also recommend a minimum time for the walk light and a buffer of at least three seconds once the pedestrian crossing signal goes from flashing to solid don't walk.

Even with these standards, there is concern, like those of Levandrie, that a person can't cross some of the city's larger intersections quickly enough.

I tend to agree. Using a general walking speed of two miles per hour, a person travels just over 2.9 feet per second, not the 3.5 as indicated in the guidelines. On a two-lane intersection, the difference is probably negligible.

On a busy four lane intersection, with left turn lanes like that at 12th and Patterson, the difference is more significant, especially if you're physically unable to walk fast enough to match the time the light allows.

Do you think crosswalk signals in Grand Junction allow enough time for safe crossing, or not?