There have been two accidents involving pedestrians on Main Street in Pine Island, MN in the last three years. The City asked me to analyze the two key intersection on Main Street and recommend ways to make the three block Main Street safer for pedestrians. I presented the findings from my report (Download Main Street Traffic Study – Pine Island – 6-8-10) last night to the City Council.
My main recommendation is to paint bumpouts at the key intersections and put planters in them, like the photo from New York City. The Council agreed and I'm going to work with city and county staff (Main Street is a county road) to get this designed and implemented by the start of school this fall (the school complex is a block east of Main Street and a lot of houses are west of Main Street – so about 80 kids cross Main Street to get back and forth to school). The county engineer likes this option too.
I believe the painted bumpouts will be the first in Minnesota. Using paint and planters will allow us to implement the solution in an inexpensive/quick/effective manner. If the city and county like the bumpouts, they may come back in a year or two and design raised bumpouts on top of curb and gutter. That involves moving storm sewer catch basins/pipes in addition to just pouring concrete, so it's a time consuming and expensive solution.
I'll post pictures once the paint and planters are in. I'm excited the city and county believe in testing out this new treatment.
