Fayetteville Police Department and Transportation Division staff watch as traffic stops for a pedestrian on North Street under a new traffic signal at the Scull Creek Trail crossing.
Photo: Todd Gill, Flyer staff
A new, fully-signalized intersection on North Street made its official debut Wednesday morning. A recently installed traffic signal at the Scull Creek Trail crossing is now fully-operational and ready for use. The signal has been in flash mode since Monday morning.
For drivers, the new rule is pretty simple – stop on red, go on green. Trail users are now required to stop and activate a push-button signal in order to get a green light.
Newly installed signs warn Scull Creek Trail users to stop and push a button before crossing North Street.
Staff photo
Members of the Fayetteville Police Department were on the scene to help educate motorists and trail users on the new rules. Transportation staff were also on hand to talk to joggers, walkers and cyclists as they approached the road.
Jeff Coles, the city’s transportation manager, said things were going about as expected. In other words, some people already know what’s up, but others are still learning.
He said several joggers and cyclists have crossed the road without pushing the signal button and a few drivers had driven through the new red light.
Fortunately, he said, the biggest issue so far isn’t exactly a safety hazard.
“We’re seeing a lot of drivers who are still stopping for people who are waiting on the trail even though they’ve got a green light,” said Coles. “It’ll take a little time, but I think they’re figuring it out.”
The decision to add the new signal was driven by numerous complaints from both drivers and trail users who said the intersection was too confusing. A non-fatal accident in February in which a bicyclist was hit by a vehicle prompted a Street Committee safety review of the crossing.
The committee ultimately chose a fully-signalized setup.
“The push-button is a great idea,” said Ward 2 Alderman Matthew Petty. “That way, all the drivers know it’s a protected crossing and all the trail users know it’s a protected crossing.”
I really appreciate the City’s efforts to increase trail safety. Yesterday I rode out to check out the new tunnel under Garland and I crossed North Street twice. This was my experience:
The first time I pushed the button and was waiting for the light to turn but the cars stopped anyway and a lady started honking at me and motioning for me to go. I pointed at my red light and shrugged my shoulders to indicate I was waiting for the light but she seemed to be angry that I was wasting her time.
The second experience was much more dangerous. A guy in a huge black truck plowed through the red light just after I crossed his lane (but was still in the street). Other cars honked in alarm but he just stuck his hand out the window, flipped us the bird, and speed off.
I’m hoping as people get more familiar with the system that it will work better. I fear that the inconsistency with the trail crossings will continue to cause confusion. With flashing lights at all other street crossings, I think it makes people less likely to notice the red and green lights at the North Street crossing.
I would like to see an increased police presence at the intersection for a while to encourage people to slow down and pay attention, something we should all be doing anyway.
Getting the bugs worked out of our trail system will require some trial and error and a healthy dose of patience on the part of everyone. I’m just so glad to see this great active transportation network growing in our community. I love riding the trails and seeing diversity of people using them and I love that so many people are smiling and saying hello along the way.
-Sarah Marsh
Candidate for City Council, Ward 1, Position 2
So the North Street trail crossing traffic signal is now fully operational, but the drivers are not. It’s good to know that the doomsayers and calamity howlers are right every once in a while.
Yes, I can’t believe that some people need more time to adjust to a change than others. It’s shocking.
Why the trail signal light at North Street will make things worse, no matter how many signs they put up:
1) There’s a seeming 1:30 delay once the button is pushed before street traffic gets a yellow light. It’s a ridiculous amount pf time to wait. The signal will be ignored because the signal ignores the users. User interfaces must be responsive or they will be discarded.
2) The green light to street traffic endangers trail users. For reasons I mentioned above, this light is already being ignored. With the green light, frustrated and confused motorists will think they have a license to run down jaywalkers.
It’s a recipe for disaster. The situation could be alleviated by a maximum 8 second delay on the push buttons and a 1 minute timeout.
Or, get rid of the signals and give unambiguous right-of-way to trail users. Or build a bridge.
I used the north street crossing four times yesterday. At each stop there were a half dozen or so trail users patiently waiting to cross the street. My personal experience says the signalized intersection is working just fine.
It seems if I activate the signal when the light hasn’t been red for some time, it will respond within seconds. The wait time for a green signal appears to be longer if the street light has just turned green. The city may also be adjusting the response time according to the time of day – which I think is a bad idea. There is no need to favor the person in a heated and cooled vehicle over the people biking and walking in all types of weather.
On a side note, yesterday I witnessed a biker stop and then ride through a red light, and a minute later a truck ran his red light. Be sure to call out people in cars and on bikes who don’t obey the signal. It’s in your interest to make people drive and bike safely.
Saw a pair of bikers fly through the crossing under the red light this morning as a cop sat parked next to the trail doing nothing. If stopping for the light is going to be enforced for cars, it had also better be enforced for trail users.
According to law, bikers must dismount and walk their bikes across North St.