The traffic planners of today have forgotten the lessons of the past, and it will cost people their lives.
In the 1980s there was a push to put in more crosswalks at intersections, and the result was deadly: Pedestrian deaths from automobiles went up. Removing the crosswalks reversed this trend.
As the article states:
“The evidence seemed to indicate that pedestrians tended to be more trusting in the marked crosswalks, trusted the motorist to see,” said Herms. “But the motorist said, `The first I knew the pedestrian was there was when I heard the bump on the car.”‘
His advice: “Don’t rely upon the painted lines to stop the automobile.”
You can read the entire news article here