5th Street for Bicyclists, Elderly People, and Children - Essay Example

5th Street Bicyclist Tempe Street is one of the best places for any cyclist to be. It provides an environment that guarantees safety and security. Fifth Street in specific is among the safest in the Tempe area. The reason it is safe is because it has a lane that is dedicated to the bicyclists. This bike lane runs along the street, fig a1. Apart from that, this lane has security measures that allow both the cyclist and the motorists to keep watch of each other. The bike lane has a 25 miles per hour speed limit, fig a2. This is pretty fast for people with bicycles. It is convenient. Yet to ensure that these cyclist do not get into accidents especially where the street has intersections, the bike lane has ramps. It serves like the bumps that help to inform the bikers of the intersection and thereby alerting them to reduce their speed. The making of the road and the signposts also help to inform all the road users of the need to keep watch of each other. There are areas, islands that are raised to help prevent accidents from other motorists coming from other lanes, fig a3. This way, it offers simple ways to avoid such clashes. There are signposts along major intersections where more than two lanes intersect. They provide adequate information to both the bikers and the motorists. The sign like the one shown in FIG is a stop sign with details 4-way intersection on the left of the signpost. Elderly people Along the fifth street, there are special places that are set apart for the elderly and even the parents. Streets have bulb outs, as shown in fig b1 are both effective and efficient for the elderly and for parents with children. The reason is that hey shorten the distance that is taken crossing roads or intersection. Like the one shown in fig b2, it is thereafter followed by a raised seating area for these group of individuals. The reason for such consideration is that this group of individuals are much slower and may require to make several stop overs before getting to their destination. It provides them with sessions of taking breaks and a good place to also read their mail online if they so choose. Children For children in particular, there are so many considerations that have been put in place to ensure that they are safe. Some of the measures include warning the road users of the speed limit they are to observe. This is the case in fig c1. At such a limit, braking is easier to avoid accidents. Other measures are having sign posts that give warning to road users about the presence of children, especially school children crossing the road. The signs are specific about the consequences of disregarding the road measures. The one in figc2 for example stipulates that the fine of breaking this traffic rule is double fines. The reason is that there is a school in session around. The whole point is that while it is one thing to offer safety to the children while they are crossing the road, it is another thing to recognize that a school is nearby and therefore avoid interruptions. All the crosswalks that are located near a school have special considerations for the children. For example, they have a bulb out along the lane that joins the school and the main street to avoid any car from swaying into the danger zone, fig c3. The temporary movable signs serve to enforce the need to accord children the first priority whenever they are in the crosswalk. People with disabilities In most of the areas in Fifth Street, the making of the roads has considered the place of the people in wheel chairs or those with disabilities. There are no areas in the fifth street that have stairs that connect the walking lanes. Instead, all the connections and the intersections are connected with slightly sloping paths. The importance is that this can allow these group of people to change lanes easily. Another important element is that the roads texture and roughness changes from one street to another. This is seen in almost all the cases. The importance is that people for example that are blind can easily recognize they are in a different lane through such changes in texture, fig d1. In addition, the nature of the sidewalks is that they are wide enough to allow for people using wheelchairs to comfortably use the road without restricting other users, fig d2. Moreover, where there are major intersections, there are bulb outs in most roads. The use of this bulb outs is not only to prevent accidents but also to act as a pointer for direction for the blind people especially. Pedestrians These are some of the other group of people that are well catered for in the design of the fifth street lanes. They have an ample space that allows them to stroll freely without worrying about accidents, fig e1. Their lanes, like most other lanes, have stop signs and indicators of intersections ahead of them, fig e2. The bulb outs that are found in some of the lanes help to point out the place where they out to stand if they are waiting for an oncoming car to cross. This way, they don’t stop in the middle of the road, fig e3. Some of the pedestrian lanes are also separated from the main motorist lanes by metal stoppers with small areas of vegetation fig e4. This in itself offers the aesthetic atmosphere that offers tranquility for these pedestrians and protect them from accidents from vehicles that may veer off the road. Fifth Street is designed in such a way that all the road users are considered. The lanes are arranged in a manner that allows for monitoring of the traffic flow as well as monitoring of the flow of people. The reduction and regulation of traffic volume, speed, noise, crashes and special consideration for specific groups was the aim of the planners of Fifth Street. Roads that are away from where residential are wide and open to receive large volumes of traffic at a time. This can be seen in fig f1. but even in these wide roads, the traffic control and the use of traffic lights is well made use of. The point is to allow many vehicles to use the road without creating traffic jam in these areas. To do so, the information that is provided has several key elements. First there is information that is simply to remind the drivers about the time specifications for the traffic lights to change. In the same boards, there is information about the drive, the lane and the street they are. More information is yet provided for with regards to the other intersections that connect, fig f2. This way, both safety and directions are guaranteed in the planning of these roads. In addition, the location of signposts in other areas where the traffic is regulated is amazing. The bumps’ signs are located at distances that are good enough to guarantee that the drivers take precautions in advance, fig f3. Where there are no traffic lights to control traffic flow, the stop signs serve to indicted the actions that are to be followed.at this junctions and intersections, the roads are also wide enough to prevent collisions from misinformation. The dual way carriers are widely spaced to allow motorists to pass each other and leave a wide safety zone between them. This is seen in, fig f4. these stop signs still prohibit parking within a range of where they are placed. The importance is that having cars that are parked near a stop sign would give mixed signals to other motorists. The stop sign is located in a position that is high enough to allow all vehicles from all directions to see it. Each lane has its own stop sign, fig f5. Apart from the consideration of the roads, the environment around the road has also been made to represent a cool and beautiful environment. Most of the streets have trees or flowers or other vegetation that is planted along side. This is essential in cleaning the atmosphere that is polluted by the gases that are emitted by these vehicles.as such, the environmental conservation offers opportunities for the pedestrians, bikers and even the motorists to not only enjoy a good view, but also enjoy clean air. The vegetation seems to increase in residential areas. This is what a good plan of a street lanes should look like (Afukaar 77–81). Works Cited Afukaar, Francis K. “Speed Control in Developing Countries: Issues, Challenges and Opportunities in Reducing Road Traffic Injuries.” Injury control and safety promotion 10.1-2 (2003): 77–81. Print.  Read More