3 ms·

The stated goal of the improvement is not to reduce speeds, but to reduce roadway departures. I would wager wider shoulders can do that even in the face of marg

The stated goal of the improvement is not to reduce speeds, but to reduce roadway departures. I would wager wider shoulders can do that even in the face of marginally higher speeds. And your assumption that higher speeds are unsafe is unfounded- unless you want to eliminate cars altogether (“there is no safe sex/speed”), a given roadway has a generally safe speed and typically this would be calculated and considered in the widening of the shoulders

ultrarunner 4y ago
I've alluded to this before on Hacker News, but the supposedly residential road that I live on is wide enough to fit approximately 7 full-size Hummer H1s side by side. The posted speed limit is 30 mph, and just riding with my elderly father-in-law today I noticed he was going 45 mph and being tailgated. I have personally lost a (thankfully parked and unoccupied) car to a collision, which wound up 100 ft down the road from where we left it. Many garbage cans have also fallen victim over the years. Calculations and considerations are all well and good, but when the rubber hits the road, wide straight roads will lead people to reason that it's fine to drive fast. I'd much, much rather have people think it's a pain to take my road because it's too skinny than to have 50-60 mph traffic accidentally kill my son or my neighbors when they choose to go outside.
- hammock 4y ago
  It sounds like your specimen road is out of code/guidelines. If you want to do something about it you can lobby for a traffic study
  - ultrarunner 4y ago
    They're all like that here… Phoenix is used as a case study in urban planning failure. The point isn't that it can or cannot be fixed (it's been decades; I'm not holding my breath), the point is that wider roads do not lead directly to safer outcomes-- probably by the same mechanism that better safety equipment in sports do not make for better injury outcomes.

ultrarunner 4y ago

I've alluded to this before on Hacker News, but the supposedly residential road that I live on is wide enough to fit approximately 7 full-size Hummer H1s side by side. The posted speed limit is 30 mph, and just riding with my elderly father-in-law today I noticed he was going 45 mph and being tailgated. I have personally lost a (thankfully parked and unoccupied) car to a collision, which wound up 100 ft down the road from where we left it. Many garbage cans have also fallen victim over the years. Calculations and considerations are all well and good, but when the rubber hits the road, wide straight roads will lead people to reason that it's fine to drive fast. I'd much, much rather have people think it's a pain to take my road because it's too skinny than to have 50-60 mph traffic accidentally kill my son or my neighbors when they choose to go outside.

hammock 4y ago
It sounds like your specimen road is out of code/guidelines. If you want to do something about it you can lobby for a traffic study
- ultrarunner 4y ago
  They're all like that here… Phoenix is used as a case study in urban planning failure. The point isn't that it can or cannot be fixed (it's been decades; I'm not holding my breath), the point is that wider roads do not lead directly to safer outcomes-- probably by the same mechanism that better safety equipment in sports do not make for better injury outcomes.