Diagonal Parking

Chico is starting to do this already, more for the purpose of increasing available parking in high-demand areas, but it also has a traffic calming benefit. According to PPS, it changes both the perception and the function of a street. Because both parked and oncoming motorists must be increasingly alert to one another, this increased awareness improves awareness of pedestrians.

Changing One-Way Streets to Two-Way

I discussed this on last Wednesday's entry, and pedestrian convenience was one of the benefits of considering changing Third, Fourth, Main, and Broadway to two-ways. And because it also increases motorist convenience, the potential for motorist frustration to result in a pedestrian injury is reduced.

Narrowing Lanes, Widening Sidewalks

This seems self-evident. The wider the roadway, the faster the motorist thinks he can safely travel. We see this every day on Broadway at First Street. Drivers that have been blissfully cruising along at 27 miles per hour on Esplanade suddenly speed up and shift from lane to lane trying to achieve some competitive advantage even though the lights are metered for the same speed they've been traveling. Another advantage of narrow strees with wider sidewalks is that pedestrians have shorter crossings, plus more space on the sidewalk for foot traffic.

Bulbs, Chokers, Neckdowns

We already have bulbs at many intersections in downtown Chico. These serve as refuges for pedestrians waiting to cross the streets. They also shorten the crossing distance, define parking bays, and provide space for amenities like trash receptable, bike racks, trees, etc.

Chicanes

This technique uses extended portions of sidewalks to give a street a "curving" aspect. Drivers instinctively slow down when the road goes from straight to curved. One way of using chicanes on a three-lane one-way street would be to extend the sidewalk from the right-hand sidewalk at the beginning of the block for about a quarter of the way, and extending the left-hand sidewalk at the end of the block for the last quarter. This encourages through traffic to stay in the center lane, and discourages left-turns, which tend to cause traffic latency, increasing congestion and emissions.

Traffic Circles and Roundabouts

We've been having a lively discussion of traffic circles in Chico for several years, and while some people are still stubbornly opposed to them, I think they've proven their value in selected circumstances. They are especially useful when more than two streets converge on the same point. For example, the intersection where Park Avenue, East Ninth Street, Humboldt, and Oroville Avenue all connect (shown at right) would be well served by a traffic circle that would permit a smooth flow of traffic without stopping.

Raised Medians

A new on of these was recently installed at Vallambrosa and Mangrove, to discourage traffic in and out of the new corporate shopping center there from crossing to or from the eastbound lanes. But they also serve to slow traffic, and provide pedestrian refuges between lanes.

Tight Corner Curbs

The sharper the turn, the slower the driver. This technique also provides pedestrians with greater visibility of oncoming traffic, and gives motorists better visibility of pedestrians. It also creates additional sidewalk space for pedestrians, and typically shortens crossings, as well.

Diverters

This is a technique to force traffic to follow specific patterns, essentially dedicating some roadways to vehicles, freeing up other corridors for pedestrian and bicycle traffic.

Speed Bumps

These would be very useful to slow down traffic approaching downtown from either direction of Second Street, which, combined with diverters, could encourage more motorists to use Third and Fourth as their through streets, rather than trying to cross the downtown on Second. These would also be useful on Broadway and Main to reduce through traffic and the "raceway effect".

Of course, these techniques can only be useful as part of an overall traffic management strategy for the city center. Applying them like band-aids to problem spots only tends to rrelocate the problems elsewhere. Access and traffic management have always been an important part of the ongoing discussion about downtown, and I hope that some of these mechanisms can be adapted to downtown Chico's unique requirements.