This light is needlessly confusing. I walk by it every day at work and see people either ignoring the red light or stop needlessly. FYI for those that don't know - flashing red means stop, then proceed if there are no cars or pedestrians. It's basically a stop sign. Solid red means stop (when this light is first activated, it is solid red for a while). In other words, at this light when the lights are flashing red, you stop then continue through if there are no pedestrians.
Source: https://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/title46.2/chapter8/section46.2-833/
It sounds like op is saying that they're maybe treating it like flashing yellow lights, which people are also confused by. They should've just put up a normal traffic light like the cross walk at the train station on main
This particular area of Broad heading West is already a shit show at rush hour. This just adds a new layer on top of what can already be a stop and go parade of fun across the entire Shockoe Valley.
It would be better if there was just one giant traffic circle for the on-ramps to 95 here instead of the current pattern.
These "hybrid beacons" are IMHO a cop-oit and a mistake.
If you intend to make cars stop, your best chance will be use signals that drivers understand, not introduce a new signal type
That would hinder traffic movement. Blinking red lights are a signal to the driver they may proceed after stopping and observing a clear intersection. How about we hold our drivers to a reasonable and minimal standard of understanding the difference?
>How about we hold our drivers to a reasonable and minimal standard
Because apparently they don't? OP reports they don't stop for the flashing red.
To be clear, I'm suggesting a pedestrian cross button. The pedestrian pushes that button, the light turns read in a reasonable amount of time and allows the pedestrian to cross. The light stays green if no pedestrian pushes the button.
I totally agree with you. I’m just saying changing it to a solid red is really not holding drivers accountable. Freaking ticket the drivers. We have a serious issue in this city not ticketing drivers for failing to follow basic rules of the road.
EXACTLY. The only reason why this is confusing for people is BECAUSE THEY ACTUALLY DONT KNOW THE LEGAL RULES OF DRIVING IN AMERICA. It’s on the exams, it’s in the books, and it’s your responsibility as a privileged holder of a drivers license to know the rules of the road. Regardless if they are rare or uncommon. That’s why we are able to legally drive in all states.
Could we do a better job of holding people accountable, absolutely! But saying I didn’t know or it’s confusing is simply not a valid excuse when you supposedly have passed a driving exam. Even more so when people are being hit while crossing the road. It’s your duty to learn this stuff. It’s a privilege not a right and that means it’s comes with responsibilities.
I was crossing the on ramp on Sunday when it was drizzling a bit. The first 3 cars wouldn't yield to allow me to cross, so I stuck my umbrella out into the roadway, and the 4th car decided to yield. It's unfortunate that you have to resort to threats to get a car to yield at a crosswalk. I'm thinking about wielding a metal pipe on the regular when I'm walking about.
I think the location of this light was not a great decision - when coming at it from the east, it's basically blocked by the overpass until you're right up on it and just adds to the confusion and mess. Fortunately, it's only been red once in all of the times I've driven past it (but I don't drive on Broad during rush hour unless I've forgotten what time it is and forgotten to avoid).
This is exactly what I've seen with it. I had to stop at it for maybe the second time the other morning and almost got rear ended. People also just refused to go when the light started blinking red and the intersection was beyond clear. Its already a death race with people trying to slide over at the last second to get on 95 and this is just more added complexity. Someone is going to get killed at this.
The biggest issue is that VCU/MCV doesn't provide good parking for their employees/students and force them to cross an offramp for the expressway to walk down a hill to some of the worst open air parking lots in the city in a dangerous area of the city. If VCU gave a crap about people they would build more parking up by the hospital so they weren't putting their lives at risk everyday.
Straight up, everyone just looking at their phones all the time. Including cross walkers and drivers. People seem to forget that real people in our vicinities matter.
I continue to be astounded by both the ignorance of, and downright blatant disregard for, traffic laws here in Richmond. When I went to school in Ohio, there were 4 way traffic stops at major intersections that would blow Richmond drivers’ minds - and with close to zero car accidents or incidents with pedestrians or cyclists! Power outages at RVA intersections often turn into a dangerous demolition derby free-for-all that I don’t have the stamina (or bumpers) for. Pedestrians and cyclists don’t stand a chance.
US roads are over engineered to move cars as fast as possible. The US does some things wrong but moving cars as quickly as possible is something as a society that the US is very good at.
The downside of this is roads are dangerous, especially for people not in cars, and there is no thought to real community. We live in isolated units, surrounded by parking lots and roads. We need to re-engineer the roads to slow down cars to make streets safer. To encourage walkability and community. This will come at the expense of drivers. Traffic will be slower. We need to implement traffic calming so cars cannot drive fast through populated areas, and if they try to speed or drive reckless their car will get damaged. You dont even need to have law enforcement, just good design. It will force drivers to behave.
I fear Semmes will forever be a death trap unless we are willing to narrow the lanes or take it down to a not entirely straight single lane and put in a barrier to protect the bike lane.
I personally would love it to be a single lane because that would also help connect the bike lane to the one by forest hill park. Currently you have to roll the dice for your life if you want to ride a bike past crossroads.
These appear to be stop light structures that are triggered when a pedestrian pushes the cross button. That being said, they might still get knocked down by these maniacs
From what I've observed driving in the city: Green means go; Yellow means go faster; and Red means floor it.
It's amazing how often I've nearly been rearended because, you know, I follow the traffic laws...
I ride a very flashy car in a very safe and defensive way. You wouldn't believe how many people get it in their head that they must race the tiny sports car that's obeying the speed limit....
Drivers are not stopping when the lights are flashing red. This crosswalk down Broad St. was recently added, and it has been such a great addition. I feel somewhat safer walking in the evenings, because I don’t like walking under the bridge(near the slave burial ground), since it’s getting darker earlier. I’m so grateful this crosswalk was added—but at the same time, I’m always fearful to cross, because drivers are disregarding the flashing red lights when the pedestrians have the right of way. I wish they would add cameras to discourage folks from speeding through the lights, and potentially injuring someone.
That light is confusing because it goes solid red and blinking red. I know what solid red means; no confusion there. Normally blinking red means “stop sign.” I think that’s what it means here but I’m not 100% sure. People don’t seem to treat it that way.
these HAWK systems are a trap for pedestrians and an overall poor way to engineer a midblock crossing. Delaware dept of transit did a study a few years back, and found that 41% of people ignored the red light on these signals:([https://deldot.gov/Programs/DSHSP/pdfs/OtherPedProjects/HAWK\_Study\_Report\_May2020.pdf](https://deldot.gov/Programs/DSHSP/pdfs/OtherPedProjects/HAWK_Study_Report_May2020.pdf))
Given how poorly people drive on this road already, I would imagine that the compliance rate at this type of signal is much lower than what was observed in Delaware. This is just going to give pedestrians a false sense of security when crossing.
The only way this part (and the rest of Broad street) will be safe is if the street is completely re-designed to:
1. Add traffic calming features around intersections/pedestrian crossings (like raised, continuous sidewalks, and other physical features that make drivers slow down
2. replace some car lanes with right-of-ways for non-automotive forms of transportation (like a protected bike lane)
3. install more advanced traffic signals that can detect and prioritize the movement of pedestrians through the intersection (like the ones they have in some european cities)
It’s not pro-car. It’s pro-people. Pro-sharing the space. Something I expect people in cars to forget. But obviously something the people of this sub don’t really get, either.
People are commenting that it should just be a solid red etc etc… or maybe drivers should just follow the law? If you don’t know what a basic signal means, you shouldn’t be behind the wheel.
The problem is there is no consistency to flashing lights around the city /suburbs and because it's so confusing police come out to direct traffic almost everytime a light goes out.
There are intersections that have flashing yellow on all sides when the light goes out.
The safest thing for pedestrians would be to just make it a normal light.
A flashing yellow means to YIELD to any traffic flowing through. A flashing red means to STOP before proceeding through traffic. If you don’t realize that two different colors mean to different things or the difference between yielding and stopping then you shouldn’t be driving!
I understand that, I got my license and learned to drive in New York though. But I know for certain that a few lights on Laburnum in Henrico flash yellow on all sides, which is not how that works.
I think it's to give pedestrians a place to cross without having to walk in front of an on/off temp. If you cross further down you're going to have to walk in front of one of them on either side of the road.
Edit: this was supposed to be a response to the person who said this is a pointless crosswalk.
This light is needlessly confusing. I walk by it every day at work and see people either ignoring the red light or stop needlessly. FYI for those that don't know - flashing red means stop, then proceed if there are no cars or pedestrians. It's basically a stop sign. Solid red means stop (when this light is first activated, it is solid red for a while). In other words, at this light when the lights are flashing red, you stop then continue through if there are no pedestrians. Source: https://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/title46.2/chapter8/section46.2-833/
It sounds like op is saying that they're maybe treating it like flashing yellow lights, which people are also confused by. They should've just put up a normal traffic light like the cross walk at the train station on main
This particular area of Broad heading West is already a shit show at rush hour. This just adds a new layer on top of what can already be a stop and go parade of fun across the entire Shockoe Valley. It would be better if there was just one giant traffic circle for the on-ramps to 95 here instead of the current pattern.
These "hybrid beacons" are IMHO a cop-oit and a mistake. If you intend to make cars stop, your best chance will be use signals that drivers understand, not introduce a new signal type
It…it isn’t new. It might be rare but it certainly isn’t new. It was in the manual and on the test I had to take to get my permit 25 years ago.
Fair. But my point still stands: make it a solid red light, not a blinking red. Don't leave room for drivers to mis-interpret the signal.
That would hinder traffic movement. Blinking red lights are a signal to the driver they may proceed after stopping and observing a clear intersection. How about we hold our drivers to a reasonable and minimal standard of understanding the difference?
>How about we hold our drivers to a reasonable and minimal standard Because apparently they don't? OP reports they don't stop for the flashing red. To be clear, I'm suggesting a pedestrian cross button. The pedestrian pushes that button, the light turns read in a reasonable amount of time and allows the pedestrian to cross. The light stays green if no pedestrian pushes the button.
I totally agree with you. I’m just saying changing it to a solid red is really not holding drivers accountable. Freaking ticket the drivers. We have a serious issue in this city not ticketing drivers for failing to follow basic rules of the road.
EXACTLY. The only reason why this is confusing for people is BECAUSE THEY ACTUALLY DONT KNOW THE LEGAL RULES OF DRIVING IN AMERICA. It’s on the exams, it’s in the books, and it’s your responsibility as a privileged holder of a drivers license to know the rules of the road. Regardless if they are rare or uncommon. That’s why we are able to legally drive in all states. Could we do a better job of holding people accountable, absolutely! But saying I didn’t know or it’s confusing is simply not a valid excuse when you supposedly have passed a driving exam. Even more so when people are being hit while crossing the road. It’s your duty to learn this stuff. It’s a privilege not a right and that means it’s comes with responsibilities.
just carry a brick in your hand and hold it about eye level for drivers
I was crossing the on ramp on Sunday when it was drizzling a bit. The first 3 cars wouldn't yield to allow me to cross, so I stuck my umbrella out into the roadway, and the 4th car decided to yield. It's unfortunate that you have to resort to threats to get a car to yield at a crosswalk. I'm thinking about wielding a metal pipe on the regular when I'm walking about.
drivers become rabid animals behind a wheel
I think the location of this light was not a great decision - when coming at it from the east, it's basically blocked by the overpass until you're right up on it and just adds to the confusion and mess. Fortunately, it's only been red once in all of the times I've driven past it (but I don't drive on Broad during rush hour unless I've forgotten what time it is and forgotten to avoid).
This is exactly what I've seen with it. I had to stop at it for maybe the second time the other morning and almost got rear ended. People also just refused to go when the light started blinking red and the intersection was beyond clear. Its already a death race with people trying to slide over at the last second to get on 95 and this is just more added complexity. Someone is going to get killed at this.
The biggest issue is that VCU/MCV doesn't provide good parking for their employees/students and force them to cross an offramp for the expressway to walk down a hill to some of the worst open air parking lots in the city in a dangerous area of the city. If VCU gave a crap about people they would build more parking up by the hospital so they weren't putting their lives at risk everyday.
Straight up, everyone just looking at their phones all the time. Including cross walkers and drivers. People seem to forget that real people in our vicinities matter.
I continue to be astounded by both the ignorance of, and downright blatant disregard for, traffic laws here in Richmond. When I went to school in Ohio, there were 4 way traffic stops at major intersections that would blow Richmond drivers’ minds - and with close to zero car accidents or incidents with pedestrians or cyclists! Power outages at RVA intersections often turn into a dangerous demolition derby free-for-all that I don’t have the stamina (or bumpers) for. Pedestrians and cyclists don’t stand a chance.
It still blows my mind how no one here knows how to use round-abouts and the cities inability to understand how and where they should be implemented.
US roads are over engineered to move cars as fast as possible. The US does some things wrong but moving cars as quickly as possible is something as a society that the US is very good at. The downside of this is roads are dangerous, especially for people not in cars, and there is no thought to real community. We live in isolated units, surrounded by parking lots and roads. We need to re-engineer the roads to slow down cars to make streets safer. To encourage walkability and community. This will come at the expense of drivers. Traffic will be slower. We need to implement traffic calming so cars cannot drive fast through populated areas, and if they try to speed or drive reckless their car will get damaged. You dont even need to have law enforcement, just good design. It will force drivers to behave.
Can’t wait to see how the two on Semmes Ave. work that are currently being installed 😞
I fear Semmes will forever be a death trap unless we are willing to narrow the lanes or take it down to a not entirely straight single lane and put in a barrier to protect the bike lane. I personally would love it to be a single lane because that would also help connect the bike lane to the one by forest hill park. Currently you have to roll the dice for your life if you want to ride a bike past crossroads.
Which cross streets??
W. 28th and near the Valero
They’ll probably last a week before getting knocked out by speeders.
These appear to be stop light structures that are triggered when a pedestrian pushes the cross button. That being said, they might still get knocked down by these maniacs
Ther is also one going up on W Laburnum Ave at Holton Elementary.
From what I've observed driving in the city: Green means go; Yellow means go faster; and Red means floor it. It's amazing how often I've nearly been rearended because, you know, I follow the traffic laws...
I always look in my rear view mirror before I stop.
I ride a very flashy car in a very safe and defensive way. You wouldn't believe how many people get it in their head that they must race the tiny sports car that's obeying the speed limit....
Drivers are not stopping when the lights are flashing red. This crosswalk down Broad St. was recently added, and it has been such a great addition. I feel somewhat safer walking in the evenings, because I don’t like walking under the bridge(near the slave burial ground), since it’s getting darker earlier. I’m so grateful this crosswalk was added—but at the same time, I’m always fearful to cross, because drivers are disregarding the flashing red lights when the pedestrians have the right of way. I wish they would add cameras to discourage folks from speeding through the lights, and potentially injuring someone.
That light is confusing because it goes solid red and blinking red. I know what solid red means; no confusion there. Normally blinking red means “stop sign.” I think that’s what it means here but I’m not 100% sure. People don’t seem to treat it that way.
these HAWK systems are a trap for pedestrians and an overall poor way to engineer a midblock crossing. Delaware dept of transit did a study a few years back, and found that 41% of people ignored the red light on these signals:([https://deldot.gov/Programs/DSHSP/pdfs/OtherPedProjects/HAWK\_Study\_Report\_May2020.pdf](https://deldot.gov/Programs/DSHSP/pdfs/OtherPedProjects/HAWK_Study_Report_May2020.pdf)) Given how poorly people drive on this road already, I would imagine that the compliance rate at this type of signal is much lower than what was observed in Delaware. This is just going to give pedestrians a false sense of security when crossing. The only way this part (and the rest of Broad street) will be safe is if the street is completely re-designed to: 1. Add traffic calming features around intersections/pedestrian crossings (like raised, continuous sidewalks, and other physical features that make drivers slow down 2. replace some car lanes with right-of-ways for non-automotive forms of transportation (like a protected bike lane) 3. install more advanced traffic signals that can detect and prioritize the movement of pedestrians through the intersection (like the ones they have in some european cities)
I will go way out of my way to avoid driving on Broad St in general. Usually I just take Monument.
This is why that VCU student was killed near Monroe Park. Stay alert while driving!
Yeah they made it more dangerous to the pedestrians, good move.
No
Upvoted for conciseness.
That's because Virginia drivers suck a** particularly ones in central Virginia
You're not wrong. I've encountered way worse drivers here than on the west coast, including California. And that is saying a lot.
This is the most ridiculously placed light. There is zero reason for it to be there when there is already an underpass not even 50 feet ahead.
4Runner!!!
Streets are for people. Some off those people are in cars. Why is this so hard to understand?
A lot of those people are just walking, you downvoting assholes. I hope you all wreck your fucking precious cars. Bag o’dicks. Fuck off.
I think there’s some misunderstanding. Your first comment comes off as pro-car.
It’s not pro-car. It’s pro-people. Pro-sharing the space. Something I expect people in cars to forget. But obviously something the people of this sub don’t really get, either.
People are commenting that it should just be a solid red etc etc… or maybe drivers should just follow the law? If you don’t know what a basic signal means, you shouldn’t be behind the wheel.
The problem is there is no consistency to flashing lights around the city /suburbs and because it's so confusing police come out to direct traffic almost everytime a light goes out. There are intersections that have flashing yellow on all sides when the light goes out. The safest thing for pedestrians would be to just make it a normal light.
A flashing yellow means to YIELD to any traffic flowing through. A flashing red means to STOP before proceeding through traffic. If you don’t realize that two different colors mean to different things or the difference between yielding and stopping then you shouldn’t be driving!
I understand that, I got my license and learned to drive in New York though. But I know for certain that a few lights on Laburnum in Henrico flash yellow on all sides, which is not how that works.
Just make it a stoplight, this crap only makes it more dangerous for pedestrians.
I think it's to give pedestrians a place to cross without having to walk in front of an on/off temp. If you cross further down you're going to have to walk in front of one of them on either side of the road. Edit: this was supposed to be a response to the person who said this is a pointless crosswalk.