The photos above are of Fairview Ave. in St Paul. The first photos represent a typical cross section without on-street parking. Note the single through-lane in each direction; the center left-turn lane and the clearly delineated shoulder buffers to protect pedestrians and bicyclists.  This cross-section prevails on Fairview between Summit and Randolph. This section of Fairview was restriped from two through lanes in each direction (like most of Bloomington's collector streets) to the current configuration in July, 1998. During the April-December timeframe of 1997 there were 59 accidents reported on this section of Fairview. After the restriping, there were only 23 accidents reported in 1999. 

In addition, St Paul's traffic engineers did a speed survey near the midpoint of this section. The results: " ... one lane 'platooning' of vehicles did impact (reduce) speeds significantly. In 1997 there were 6,862 vehicles in a 24 hour period travelling 32 mph or less -- in 1999 there were 9,814 traveling 32 mph or less (an increase of 43%). In 1997, there were 7,879 at 33 mph or more and in 1999 there were 4,369 at 33 mph or more (a decrease of 45%)." (Al Shetka, St Paul Traffic engineer)

In his note, Al Shetka notes, "As a general rule, any time you can segregate left turns and provide a sperate lane for this movement it may reduce accidents, especially at higher volume signalized intersections."

"One other point is that the center left turn lane provides a better pedestrian refuge than the double yellow line and should increase pedestrian safety, visability and comfort when crossing Fairview. "

Note that total traffic volumes measured during the speed survey decreased insignificantly, from 14,741 daily trips in 1997 to 14,183 in 1999. Both the before and after average daily trip (ADT) volumes are well above the trip volumes that Bloomington experiences on either 84th Street or Highwood Drive. I also noted that, like 84th street, this section of Fairview has numerous residential driveways opening onto the streets, as well as several backyard alleys serving entire blocks of homes. Neighborhood residents appear to use the center turn lanes (in combination with the increase incidence of "platooning") to get into and out of their driveways. 

These pictures show a typical cross section with parking on one side, which now prevails between Summit and Marshall. In this section of Fairview, accidents were reduced from 10 in 1997 to 5 in 1999.

The above picture is from the section between Randolph and Highland Parkway, with parking on both sides. No before and after accident statistics were collected for this section of Fairview. 

This St Paul picture is of Ford Parkway at Fairview. Ford Parkway is a very wide street, but note that it still has only one through lane in each direction. The rest of the pavement is devoted to turn lanes and parking lanes. Grand Avenue, a major St Paul commercial thoroughfare, now looks the same. In fact, I did not see a single neighborhood collector street in St Paul with more than one through lane (though I'm sure that there must be some). 

In contrast, above are pictures of 84th Street in Bloomington at Stanley and at Quinn (10,000 ADT). Note the absence of pavement markings to denote the location of the 4-way stop. The next two pictures in this group are of the intersection of 84th & Morris. In contrast to 84th and Quinn, this intersection is very well marked with both "limit lines" and pedestrian crosswalk markings. Staff and TTAC should monitor accident rates at these two intersections closely to see if the markings make a difference in accident rates and the incidence of stop sign running. A video survey of driver and pedestrian activity at these intersections would be fascinating! (Note: City Traffic Engineer Chad Smith is obtaining a copy of a study that relates pavement markings and accident rates.) 

This final picture (left) is of Lindstrom Drive (2,500 ADT) in southwest Bloomington.
These folks have it nice!

Finally, yes, as a matter of fact, when you stand in the middle of the road and take pictures of the pavement, people DO look at you funny!  :-)

Regards,

Steve Elkins
Bloomington City Council, District III
8709 Sandro Rd
Bloomington, MN 55438-1228
612-578-2103 (Cell)
952-835-2118 (Home)
Email:  selkins@ci.bloomington.mn.us