In conversations with friends, I recently discovered that the four-way intersection at East Wheelock and South Main Street is an infrequently discussed yet polarizing part of campus life. It’s not the intersection on its own, but specifically how the traffic lights work — some people love it, some people hate it and most everyone can’t understand why someone would feel differently than they do about it.
The intersection is unique because all the walk signs activate simultaneously for all sides of the street. This creates a kind of box in which pedestrians can walk in any direction they choose while the walk sign is on. At first glance, I hated how the intersection worked. The time for pedestrians to cross is absurdly short, and it takes forever to cycle to it. Then I did some research, and I would now like to offer a firm defense of the intersection and its operation. Yes, the intersection may seem quite slow and annoying. But in actuality, it prioritizes pedestrians’ time and safety.
There’s actually a name for this traffic pattern — it’s called the Pedestrian Scramble or, colloquially, the Barnes Dance. It’s named after the prolific traffic engineer Henry Barnes, who served as the street commissioner for several major cities. It’s specifically called the “dance” because when he instituted the traffic pattern in Denver, pedestrians were reportedly so happy that they began to dance in the streets.
Why were they so happy? Before the introduction of the Barnes Dance, crossing the street in many major cities was gnarly. Pedestrians had to be aware of turning cars, drivers in a rush to make a light, and drivers attempting to make unprotected lefts. Studies back up the pedestrian experience – Barnes Dance intersections have been shown to reduce pedestrian injuries.
Of course, there’s a catch. Although the Barnes Dance is safer for pedestrians, it reduces vehicle capacity. By providing pedestrians an exclusive cycle of time for crossing, the intersection moderately reduces the number of cars that can pass through any given intersection in any given time span. Traffic models that prioritize cars make this a major no-no, and this is why Barnes Dance crossings have largely been abandoned in many major cities, even in areas with massive numbers of pedestrians.
Luckily, the town of Hanover has not been blinded by the chrome glint of the automobile. This is where I turn to you, reader, and ask: Can you think of a type of intersection better suited for a college campus? It is so fitting that the Barnes Dance prizes pedestrians in a part of Hanover that is inhabited by people who don’t own cars. The diminished car capacity is an absolutely appropriate price for drivers to pay to make the area surrounding campus more friendly to walkers.
Furthermore, the Barnes Dance is perfect for a place that has a higher proportion of intoxicated and distracted individuals walking around, especially at night. The de-confliction of turns with walkers makes it much less likely that an intoxicated or otherwise distracted student will cross at the wrong time and be hit by a turning car.
The Barnes Dance arrangement is a gem in a larger crown of Hanover’s pedestrian processing near Dartmouth. Simply put, Dartmouth’s campus, like most college campuses, prioritizes the pedestrian with little concern for the inconvenience that it causes drivers. It’s a pain to drive around Dartmouth’s campus, and that’s how it should be. Discouraging car usage in pedestrian-heavy areas has the added benefit of minimizing emissions, which improves air quality and is good for the environment.
Although our traffic processing is already great, I think it can be improved even further. The cycle time of the Barnes Dance is a measly 12 seconds, barely enough for seniors or people with disabilities to cross. Extending this cycle by just a bit, even if it causes a minor uptick in traffic, would help to make the area even more pedestrian-friendly.
As fossil fuels continue to ravage our planet, those who care about sustainability must take solace and fight for the subtle changes that make a difference. If you care about the environment and your own safety, I encourage you to care about things as inane as traffic matrices. Prizing the pedestrian is a major step towards building a better world.
Opinion articles represent the views of their author(s), which are not necessarily those of The Dartmouth.
Eli Moyse ’27 is an opinion editor and columnist for The Dartmouth. He studies government and creative writing. He publishes various personal work under a pen name on Substack (https://substack.com/@wesmercer), and you can find his other work in various publications.
