4 ms·

I cannot imagine being okay with an ambulance rocketing down a sidewalk that is explicitly designed as a "pedestrian zone." The solution to emergency vehicles

I cannot imagine being okay with an ambulance rocketing down a sidewalk that is explicitly designed as a "pedestrian zone." The solution to emergency vehicles being unable to navigate streets in a timely manner is to redesign the streets, not to normalize the practice of endangering pedestrians. Additionally, if it is necessary to design a mixed pedestrian/vehicle zone, there are absolutely ways to go about that, with specific and different buildout and signage. Any city planner whose solution is "Oh, well, the emergency vehicles can just use the sidewalks to turn or pass other vehicles, and they'll be careful so it's okay" is committing malfeasance and should be held legally responsible for the deaths and injuries arising from said decision.

sandworm101 2y ago
Who said anything about speed? A vehicle like a fire truck can simply be too long/wide to get around a corner even at a walking pace. So they use the sidewalks. Emergency vehicles in pedestrian areas is a very common. So any barrier system needs to accommodate them. Every, and I mean every, neighborhood is laid out on the premise that firetrucks can get to every location. The size of buildings, even the width of city blocks, is often tied to the capacities of the local fire departments to push water using pumper trucks. Want multi-story residential areas? The roads better be able to handle ladder trucks too.
- bombcar 2y ago
  It’s possible to reduce the size of the fire trucks, too. Not every ladder truck needs to be a full double-steered classic hook and ladder; modern extension trucks can be relatively compact. Amusingly enough around here the widest streets are the oldest; because they were wide enough to turn a wagon and a team of horses. Some of the newest streets are quite narrow - a truck can go down them easily enough but turning around would involve a driveway.
yowzadave 2y ago
> The solution to emergency vehicles being unable to navigate streets in a timely manner is to redesign the streets There is another option: redesign the emergency vehicles. I grew up in a city (Salt Lake City) whose streets were designed to be extra-wide to accommodate the turning radius of a horse-drawn wagon; similar considerations are made for fire engines in many cities. By contrast, in Tokyo, they simply designed a smaller fire engine, which offers the benefit making streets more pedestrian-friendly in typical non-emergency situations.

sandworm101 2y ago

Who said anything about speed? A vehicle like a fire truck can simply be too long/wide to get around a corner even at a walking pace. So they use the sidewalks. Emergency vehicles in pedestrian areas is a very common. So any barrier system needs to accommodate them. Every, and I mean every, neighborhood is laid out on the premise that firetrucks can get to every location. The size of buildings, even the width of city blocks, is often tied to the capacities of the local fire departments to push water using pumper trucks. Want multi-story residential areas? The roads better be able to handle ladder trucks too.

bombcar 2y ago
It’s possible to reduce the size of the fire trucks, too. Not every ladder truck needs to be a full double-steered classic hook and ladder; modern extension trucks can be relatively compact. Amusingly enough around here the widest streets are the oldest; because they were wide enough to turn a wagon and a team of horses. Some of the newest streets are quite narrow - a truck can go down them easily enough but turning around would involve a driveway.

yowzadave 2y ago

> The solution to emergency vehicles being unable to navigate streets in a timely manner is to redesign the streets There is another option: redesign the emergency vehicles. I grew up in a city (Salt Lake City) whose streets were designed to be extra-wide to accommodate the turning radius of a horse-drawn wagon; similar considerations are made for fire engines in many cities. By contrast, in Tokyo, they simply designed a smaller fire engine, which offers the benefit making streets more pedestrian-friendly in typical non-emergency situations.