New research says ‘left turn calming’ makes intersections safer

Love these. The similar right-turn calming from SW 4th onto eastbound Market has made a big difference to me as a pedestrian.

I love them too, but they seem to be encouraging drivers into the bike lane at Willamette and Portsmouth (though I guess, in theory, the bike lane should be empty if the car turning has a green light).

Probably one-third of the plastic wands used to create a “protected” bike lane on SE 45th Avenue are missing. At least the bumps will stay a bit longer. I am skeptical that the bumps will have a long-lasting impact on driver behavior.

How quaint that the first image shows an automobile turning left into the near lane. That must be some hold-over technique shown in a drivers manual somewhere.
Interesting note: 31% of traffic tickets written in Portland, Gresham and Beaverton (no data for Tigard or OC) are for failure to turn into the near lane.

I think these are good cheap methods. A similar installation slows down the right hand turn from Interstate to Mississippi – a turn people used to take a high speed.

These rubber bumpers have created problems at intersections that didn’t previously have issues. The ones located at SE 30th and Hawthorne have increased congestion at that intersection and force pedestrian and bike traffic to interact more directly with vehicle traffic. By attempting to direct vehicle traffic into a narrower area that also directly competes with the oncoming traffic these make the streets more dangerous. I’ve seen more close calls and all road users confused by the changes.

The bumpers also force cars attempting to make left turns in opposing directions into the same space where they previously could avoid each other and other road users. Also since these reduce the number of cars that can make it through the intersection each light cycle and creates backup it directs more cars into the smaller residential streets and adjacent bicycle greenways on SE Salmon and SE 29th Ave. A poor design decision that is causing more problems than solutions.

I have noticed these out on the streets. In some locations, it doesn’t seem possible to make a left turn simultaneously with the opposite direction left turning vehicle because you have to drive further into the intersection. It certainly does cause one to slow down more. It’s also a bit of a distraction if you try to avoid running over them, looking for cars turning in the other direction and pedestrians.