Description

The city installed rumble strips along 2nd Street on Tuesday (10/6). It's clear that these were installed in order to slow vehicles within the vicinity of multiple mid-block pedestrian crossings; however, the rumble strips are cut across the full-width of both lanes, are difficult for cyclists to traverse, and are a tire-wedge hazard.

It seems that the rumble strips could have been just as effective if they were only installed within the center of the road (perhaps extending 5' on each side of the lane line) so that vehicles would still catch the strips with one wheel while allowing cyclists to bypass the rumble strips along the edge of the lane.

It is worth noting that the ped crossing issue at this location is only partially due to high vehicular speeds; the other issue is the poor sight distances at these crossings. Although painted pedestrian bump-outs are present in some locations, the narrow lanes and existing parking lanes greatly limit the sight distance and pose a safety hazard. In addition to addressing the rumble strip issue, perhaps a REAL look should be taken at addressing the pedestrian crossings... like a visible pedestrian signal... something like the newly approved, pedestrian actuated, Rectangular Rapid Flashing Beacons to grab motorists attention. (FYI, the PennDOT approval number is SPD-001X for those beacons.)

A photo is included as part of this updated posting.