As citizens of Dartmouth College, we are all indoctrinated into the Salty Dog Rag. However, as residents of Hanover, we are all intimately familiar with another boogie the Barnes Dance. The Barnes Dance is a colloquialism for the types of crosswalks the town of Hanover maintains all vehicles come to a stop, and then pedestrians are free to cross in any direction. For example, consider the intersection of Wheelock and Main Streets. Wheelock has a lot of traffic from Vermont, including large trucks and other slow moving traffic, while Main Street mostly has smaller cars and local Hanover residents flowing through. Known as a diagonal crossing (or scramble intersection to our Canadian friends), these crosswalks favor pedestrians over cars by stopping all traffic and letting pedestrians go in any direction, including diagonally, rather than allowing pedestrians to cross in the direction cars are currently travelling.
Historically, pedestrian scramble advocates have touted two benefits pedestrian amenity and safety. For these reasons, large cities such as Los Angeles and San Francisco have instituted scrambles on several crowded intersections. While the literature on the efficacy of diagonal crossings has been mixed, there is a surprising degree of agreement that scrambles only work when large numbers of pedestrians are expected, the sidewalks have enough space for such large numbers of pedestrians to gather and all parties involved follow the rules.
When these conditions are met, such crossings have great potential. For example, while the residential population of Beverly Hills, Calif. is only 35,000, the daytime population is estimated to be about 150,000, concentrated almost entirely in the business district. Under high-pedestrian traffic, free right turns become almost impossible, and frustrated drivers are likely to run into pedestrians. After the scramble was instituted in Beverly Hills, accidents declined by an incredible 66 percent.
The condition that everyone follows the rules is critical. As the ratio of red light to green light time increases, pedestrians are more likely to jaywalk and cars are more likely to disobey the signals. A Transportation Research Board report argued that "if violations are frequent, the use of scramble timing may be more of a safety hazard than an accident prevention measure." Unfortunately, many people mistakenly believe that unsafe behavior, such as jaywalking, is acceptable or more safe in low-traffic areas. In these situations, studies indicate that pedestrians often do not wait for the exclusive walking period and that the more frequent jaywalking offsets the lower traffic, thereby producing worse safety outcomes.
This is precisely what occurred in the Chinatown neighborhood of Oakland, Calif. A University of California, Berkeley study found that the diagonal crosswalk implemented on 8th Street and Webster Street, an intersection that saw a great deal of traffic, led to increased wait times and more frequent jaywalking, which in the long run, would no doubt result in more accidents. Hanover has extremely high rates of jaywalking because, on campus, students can safely cross without any particular consideration. This culture of carefree crossing often bleeds into town, and many students cross streets regardless of the traffic lights because they know cars will stop for them.
For this reason alone, it is clear that scramble crossings are not beneficial in Hanover. On relatively crowded intersections such as Main and Wheelock, it is even worse. Wheelock often has large trucks and slower moving traffic because it is a major thoroughfare to Vermont. Due to the diagonal crosswalk, traffic builds up very quickly and cars aimlessly wait, wasting fuel, for long periods when at least half of the pedestrians jaywalk anyway. Even if the diagonal crosswalks could be justified for crowded intersections like Main and Wheelock, it is difficult to find a case for the less popular ones.
Driving in Hanover can often be incredibly painful and frustrating. Dealing with bicyclists, skateboarders and pedestrians who cross at their fancy and having to wait longer than usual for green lights contribute to road rage and increase the potential for accidents. Rather than blaming jaywalkers and increasing penalties, it is important to recognize the structural factors that would incentivize people to maintain high driving standards. A simple change to the crosswalk system can encourage a more safe and convenient approach to road etiquette for drivers and pedestrians alike. Although well-intentioned, the Barnes Dance is not one that suits Hanover particularly well.
