Park Avenue is transforming to an equal opportunity roadway for cars and bicyclists. Driving on the newly remodeled Park Avenue and navigating through the pavement markings can have a striking effect. Waterloo is entering a new era. As days go by the unfamiliar marks on the pavement start to become a familiar scene. It all makes sense now, where the bicycles drive, where the cars park, and how fast one should be driving. The visitors will definitely notice the change. At first they might struggle a little bit to figure out where to park their cars. In the end it is all good. Hopefully they will take our message of progress to their home towns. The bike lanes are installed with some safety features. It is always up to the cyclist and the driver to be very careful when they drive or ride along this street. Bicycling is inherently dangerous as the slightest crash can cause injuries.
Intersection of Shaulis Road and IA 21 (Hawkeye Road) in Waterloo recently changed from a 3 leg to a full 4 leg intersection. This location has been experiencing traffic accidents. Crashes have been happening while a driver who is waiting to make a left turn is met by an unsuspecting driver causing a rear-end collision. City of Waterloo and Iowa Department of Transportation are working together to find a solution, possibly adding left turn lanes. Meanwhile please be more careful when going through this intersection.
Waterloo’s first speed table is scheduled to be installed in the 600 block of Burton Avenue this week. This is an attempt to improve pedestrian safety at an existing crosswalk. The crosswalk will be raised 4 inches. It will be 10 ft wide. There will be 6 ft tapered approaches on both sides of the table. Waterloo normally installs speed humps to control speed in residential areas. At this location improving the crosswalk is the main goal. Park Road will be closed to through traffic from Fairview/Lafayette to Burton Avenue. Burton Avenue will be closed to through traffic from Conger to Park Road. The public will be able to drive to the baseball fields. The roadwork will begin at 7:00 a.m. on Wednesday, September 19, 2012 and should end by 3:00 p.m. on Thursday.
You must yield when making a left turn. This is very much like a solid green ball light for left turners. A driver who is planning to make a left turn must yield to all other traffic who have the right of way such as opposing through traffic and pedestrians. Iowa DOT has more information on their site under “Introducing the flashing yellow left-turn arrow traffic signals” The reason behind it is to remind the motorist that when you are making a permitted left turn you need to yield to oncoming traffic. The green ball indication might confuse some of the drivers into thinking they have the right of way, particularly after a green arrow. Maryland was the first state to use FYA in 2000. They installed many of them. Now, Maryland has banned the FYA.
Where is Waterloo’s most dangerous spot? What intersection has the most number of fatalities? Where is that location where cars collide causing deaths? The answer is nowhere and everywhere. Or perhaps the answer is “inside us”. We are causing our own suffering. Vehicles and roadways have improved drastically. Has the driver improved too?
Almost all of fatal crashes happened at non-intersections. Almost all involved only one vehicle. You would think in a city it happens when two cars collide. In Waterloo, fatalities have been happening at random locations. Law enforcement and engineers concentrate on problem spots. When fatalities happen at random locations there is little they can do.
Is it our driving culture? Why do we have to lose so many people who are simply going from one point to another? Should going from here to there be this dangerous? Should so many lives be lost, more than to wars and to natural disasters? Besides emotional losses, the economical losses to our society are huge. What can we do to make zero fatalities a reality? Are we too distracted? Do we not care? Why do we drink alcohol and drive? One bicycle fatality tested positive for drugs. A pedestrian fatality was possibly due to dark clothes; not visible in the dark. What will it take to make us change our culture? What will it take to make us understand moving around town is a serious business?
2011 was one of Waterloo’s worst years. Seven people were killed and many were severely injured in seven fatal accidents at random locations. These many deaths have not happened in almost 10 years. Six out of seven were single vehicle crashes. Only one happened at an intersection where two cars collided. About half of the deaths involved alcohol and drugs. Among the fatal crashes were a motorcycle passenger, a pedestrian, and a tractor driver. One fatality was due to a diabetic attack. Almost all of the deaths happened at non-intersection random locations. Six out of seven accidents involved only one vehicle. We are well into the 21st century and we die of such tragic preventable sudden deaths. What is happening to us as a society? What is causing all these deaths? Are we over-confident? Are we inattentive? Do we need more traffic safety education? Are we not aware of the dangers? Alcohol? Are traffic safety campaigns mis-directed? When fatal crashes are single-vehicles happening at random locations the burden lays almost entirely on the drivers’ shoulders.
This is our latest traffic safety billboard advertisement. Billboards have been part of Drive Safe Cedar Valley campaign for several years. Your suggestions and ideas for a billboard ad will be appreciated.
We are frequently asked about the meaning of a Red Right Arrow traffic signal indication. Some people mistakenly think they can make a full stop and then proceed carefully if there is no conflicting traffic. A Red Right Arrow means turns on red are not allowed. Drivers must wait until the red arrow indication is off to make their right turn. The only exception is where there is a sign saying that right turn on red is allowed. This is different than the solid ball red light. A solid red ball means right turners can make a right turn on red, unless there is a sign prohibiting it.
| INTERSECTION |
| US 218 (Washington) & W. 11th St |
| Universtity Ave & S. Main St |
| US 63 & Washington St |
| US 218 (Washington) & W. 9th St |
| E. 5th St & Frankiln St |
| Mitchelle Ave & La Porte Rd |
| Williston Ave & Baltimore St* |
| Williston Ave & W. 9th St* |
| US 218 Southbound Off-Ramp & US 63* |
| US 218 (Washington) & Williston Ave (W. 18th St)* |
| University Ave & Progress Ave* |
| US 218 (Washington) and Hawthorne Ave* |
Intersections marked with * have already been improved or are planned for improvements.
Soon a new type of pedestrian signals will be activated on East Orange Road by Hawkeye Community College campus. These signals for vehicles remain blank until someone pushes the pedestrian button. When the signals are flashing red and pedestrians are not crossing, vehicles can go after they have made a full stop. Drivers see the indications shown below.
MEANINGS OF PEDESTRIAN HAWK SIGNAL INDICATIONS
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BLANK
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FLASHING YELLOW
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STEADY YELLOW
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STEADY RED
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FLASHING RED
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NOT ACTIVATED
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SLOW DOWN
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PREPARE TO STOP
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STOP
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STOP, THEN GO IF NO PEDESTRIAN IS CROSSING
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