Caving-In Disguised as Safety

As far as fray's go this one is pretty mild, but lets be unequivocal here, contrary to the headline in the local paper - "Towne Avenue off-ramp improvements aim to increase safety for pedestrians, cyclists" - the new LED 'No Right Turn' light does zero to improve the safety of either group. The only thing that could have been more emphatic than three "No Right Turn on Red" signs at this one intersection would have been a blanket law against turning right on red anywhere, at anytime.

For all intents we are really little better than back at square one with this. The light, of course, is only activated when someone pushes a button and, I assume, that once activated a pedestrian crossing the street will have a certain amount of time before the light turns off. Cyclists, well, we are just screwed here, because it will never activate for us. Unless you want to get off your bike, go over push the button? I didn't think so. Really the only people "benefiting" are drivers who can get back to their California stops like they always did, without the guilty nuisance of having to stare at those three signs. 

And what was so bad about the no turn on red anyway? More often than not this is my exit from points west. Even when I have to sit through the full cycle it is what, forty-five seconds, a minute wait? If that is too much, you should see a doctor - because I suggest you may have a bad case of motor dependance. (photo from City of Claremont)