Flags Over Dane County Adopt-A-Crosswalk Program Safe Community Coalition of Madison and Dane County
What is the Pedestrian Flags Over Dane County Adopt-A-Crosswalk Program? The Adopt-A-Crosswalk Pedestrian Crossing Flag Program involves placing orange flags in containers at each end of a crosswalk. People wanting to cross the street at the crosswalk pick up a flag to signal to drivers their intent to cross the street, then cross the street and place the flag in the container on the other side for the next person to use. The flag is a powerful new pedestrian-to-driver communication tool. The pedestrian can more easily assert his statutory right to cross in a crosswalk, while the driver has a clear visual signal that the pedestrian is intending to cross. The flag doesn t automatically make drivers stop, so you must exercise the usual caution about stepping into the path of a moving vehicle. However, it does generally make crossing the street a much faster, safer, and more pleasant exercise for the beleaguered pedestrian. For more how-to details, see Tips for Pedestrians, page 5. Where did this idea come from? Several U.S. cities are using the flags, most notably Kirkland, Washington and Salt Lake City, Utah. Salt Lake City has 105 flagged crosswalks, and only one injury at these intersections in nearly three years of operation. The Safe Community Coalition of Madison and Dane County s (SCC) program is based on the experience of these communities. Madison s Dudgeon-Monroe Neighborhood Association brought pedestrian crossing flags to Dane County. Their experience has helped shape the information in this booklet so other community groups in the area can implement this program. How do I Adopt-A-Crosswalk in my neighborhood or community? Contact the Safe Community Coalition of Madison and Dane County. You can download an Adopt-A-Crosswalk Pedestrian flag application at www.safecommunitycoalition.org or contact us at 256-6713 or 238-5612 to receive an application. The Coalition will guide you through the Adopt-A-Crosswalk process: local traffic safety agency approval, neighborhood connections, publicity, and education steps needed for the pedestrian crossing flags to be successfully implemented. What guidance can you give about selecting a location for a flagged crossing? Perhaps the most important criterion is: where are the most people having the most difficulty crossing the street in your neighborhood or community? The Adopt-a- Crosswalk application asks a few questions about this: is there significant (or potentially significant) pedestrian traffic at this location; is the crossing on a busy street; have you received complaints about difficulty crossing at this location from neighborhood or community residents? A second guideline is safety. In this initial stage of Pedestrian Flags Over Dane County, the community is just learning about the flags and the yield-to-pedestrians law. Locations with lower traffic speeds, fewer lanes for pedestrians to cross, and at crossings where pedestrians are easily seen by motorists are the safest candidates for flagged crossings. Finally, since flagged crossings require daily checking to ensure that flags are available to pedestrians, it is important to select a location where volunteers can be relied upon to monitor the flag supply. Neighbors who live near the crossing, an
adjacent business, police officers on regular patrol, or employee groups who use the crossing are all potential flag monitors. If the number of requests for flagged crossings exceeds funds available, the Coalition will provide starter kits for locations with higher levels of pedestrian and vehicle traffic. Also, the adopting organization s ability to monitor and maintain the flagged location is an important selection criterion. What if our group wants to create a flagged crossing without Coalition financial support? That s great thanks! You'll still need to have the location approved by local traffic authorities, and follow specifications for flags, listed below. The Coalition can help with the local approval process if you complete and return the Adopt-a-Crosswalk form. In the interest of safety, your group is strongly encouraged to garner community support, and to educate pedestrians and motorists in ways suggested in this brochure. Who else needs to be involved? The Pedestrian Flags Over Dane County Program will be most successful in your area if there has been involvement of the neighborhood to Adopt-A-Crosswalk prior to placing the flags at the crosswalk. Neighbors, businesses, and local elected officials in the area should be involved. It is important to educate people on how to use the flags ahead of time. This can be done by including the flag project on the agenda of a neighborhood meeting or public hearing, including articles on the flag project in neighborhood newsletters and community newspapers, leafleting the neighborhood, and placing information in businesses near the proposed flag crossing. Check the Coalition website at www.safecommunitycoalition.org for samples. How many flags do I need, and who pays for these? The Safe Community Coalition will provide a starter kit of flags and flag holders to groups that submit a successful application. The crosswalk-adopting group will be expected to match the SCC s fundraising by replacing flags as needed. Flags, unfortunately, have a tendency to walk away from the crossing location, mainly in the first few weeks at a new crossing location. The adopting organization s cooperation in trying to minimize the loss of flags through their educational efforts is appreciated. It is the adopting organization s responsibility to obtain replacement flags. Making replacement flags is simple and fast. The Coalition or Dudgeon-Monroe Neighborhood Association can provide directions and sources. Continued neighborhood or community involvement is needed for the project to be ongoing at any given location. To purchase and make replacement flags, the flags should meet the following specifications for better visibility and pedestrian safety: Flag Color: orange Flag Size: between 12 x12 and 18 x18 Pole Length: 24 to 36 inches Printing/logos: The name of the sponsoring organization or business may be printed in black letters on the flag holder. No logos can be used on the flags.
Watching for traffic and waiting for drivers to stop before crossing (not visible in this picture, pedestrians are sheltered by parked cars where they are waiting at this location). Waving thanks to a driver who stopped to let her cross. Eye contact, clear communication and courtesy are all important for making the pedestrian crossing flag project work.
Law Enforcement Local Police Departments play a tremendously important role in keeping pedestrians safe. They are important partners on your Adopt-A-Crosswalk pedestrian flag project. Your local police department can be involved by: 1. Leafleting motorists at pedestrian crossings during busy times of the day to educate motorists about Wisconsin s Yield to Pedestrians law. A great time to do this is just before a crosswalk becomes a flag crossing location. 2. Enforcing the law and issuing warnings and citations for violations of Wisconsin s Yield to Pedestrians law at the flagged crosswalk and at other locations in the community. 3. Providing training to local volunteers and pedestrians at adopted pedestrian flag crosswalks in their community. 4. Helping a group of neighbors or a business district obtain support for adopting a particular crosswalk from local traffic authorities or committees. 5. If the volunteer effort to maintain an adopted pedestrian flag crosswalk is slowing down, helping find new volunteers to keep the project going. 6. Adopting a pedestrian flag crosswalk!
Sample Newsletter Articles, Flyers, Signs Local Pedestrians Arise to Carry Their Flags High! The Dudgeon-Monroe Neighborhood Association (D-MNA) will launch a Flags Over Monroe Street program to help pedestrians assert their crosswalk rights. Residents are urged to turn out Monday, May 6, at 10:30 a.m. at the intersection of Monroe and Sprague Streets to learn how to navigate crossing Monroe Street more effectively. The Flags Over Monroe Street pedestrian picks up a flag from a container on one side of the street, holds it out while crossing, and returns it to a container on the other side of the street, where it is available for the next walker. We believe the program will give walkers a faster, safer, and more pleasant crossing. The accompanying tips article gives both drivers and pedestrians more complete information about how they can help make Monroe Street a safer, more civilized shared neighborhood space. Trained volunteers will coach pedestrians on crossing techniques during the kickoff week. Flags will only be available from 5:30 p.m. to dusk, Monday, May 6 through Thursday, May 9. After this training period, flags will be available during daylight hours. Why Are We Doing This? Even though state statutes require that drivers yield to pedestrians in a crosswalk, marked or unmarked, at every intersection without traffic signals, drivers are often ignorant of the law and pedestrians are often fearful to cross. Drivers act as though I'm not there in spite of my double stroller and crying baby, and there's seldom a gap in all the lanes at once, reports resident Anna Schryver. She is not alone. The D-MNA Long Range Plan included a survey of residents in which 88% of respondents identified the difficulty crossing Monroe Street as the worst problem of the neighborhood. The Monroe-Sprague intersection is a heavily used pedestrian crossing and has recently experienced two car/pedestrian crashes in its vicinity, stated Ann Clark, D-MNA Transportation Committee Co-Chair. Lt. Stephanie Bradley-Wilson, head of MPD's Traffic Enforcement Safety Team, says, The Police Department has stepped up enforcement and education efforts in response to the numerous complaints about how unsafe people feel when attempting to cross the street. The Flags Over Monroe Street project is a great opportunity to educate both the drivers and pedestrians about pedestrian safety issues.
Flags Over Monroe Street needs your help! A Simple Idea: Pedestrians pick up flags in buckets on either side of the Sprague/Monroe crosswalk and leave them on the other side. Flags give pedestrians confidence, and give drivers a clear signal to yield as the pedestrian intends to cross the street. Pedestrians also learn a safe lane-by-lane strategy for crossing which does not require a gap across all lanes at once. Goals: To give pedestrians a strategy for more quickly and safely crossing the street. To educate drivers so they reliably yield to pedestrians in the crosswalk as the law requires. See next page for important tips for both walkers and drivers!
Tips for Flagwaving Pedestrians 1. Gauge the traffic for gaps in the lane nearest you. (Cars take a long time to stop; at 25 mph allow 140 feet or about ten car lengths, more for speeders or bad weather conditions, during this period when drivers and pedestrians are getting used to the flags). 2. Point to the other side of the street with the flag (or use your arm at any other location), while standing near the curb with at least one foot in the street. Use any nearby parked cars to shelter you while you cross the parking lanes. 3. Maintain eye contact with the driver of the first car that has time to stop. Let any closer cars pass by. Step out in the lane cautiously when the car you have chosen slows to a stop. 4. Sheltered in the lane of the stopped car, cross the lane in front of it while watching for a suitable gap in traffic in the next lane of traffic. Then maintain eye contact with the first driver with time to stop in that lane. Move in front of the new car as it stops. Repeat lane by lane until you have crossed all traffic lanes. 5. Remember that the flag is a helpful tool, but you still have to use normal caution and good judgment when crossing the street, with or without a flag. 6. Whenever you can, without being distracted, give drivers a smile, a wave, or thanks. Demonstrate to drivers that pedestrians appreciate their courtesy. Tips for Flagged Down Drivers 1. Obey the speed limit and keep well behind cars in front of you, so you can easily stop for pedestrians. 2. Watch street edges and sidewalks ahead carefully for pedestrians and apply your brakes early and gradually so the car behind you can stop, too. 3. Stop for the pedestrian two or more car lengths short of the crosswalk so cars behind you and the pedestrian can more easily see each other around your car. Remember, the next time you may be the pedestrian, and this pedestrian may be the driver waiting for you. And thanks for stopping!
Safe Community Coalition of Madison and Dane County Pedestrian Flags Over Dane County Adopt-A-Crosswalk Application and Agreement Crosswalks for the Pedestrian Flags Over Dane County program can be adopted by neighborhood associations, neighborhood watch groups, business associations, police departments, local streets departments, individual businesses, or other groups that can demonstrate a commitment to maintaining a flagged crossing. This Application and Agreement includes the responsibilities agreed to by the adopting organization should the application be approved by the Safe Community Coalition of Madison and Dane County (hereafter referred to as SCC or Safe Community Coalition ). Please attach a simple diagram of the location you are proposing for a flagged pedestrian crossing. If you think a photo would be helpful, please attach one. Crossing of at (street being crossed) (intersecting street if (intersection side, e.g. mid-block provide landmark) north, south, east, west) This space for local traffic authority s use only Approve Denied Reason(s): Signature: Sponsoring Organization/Business Name: Address: Contact Name (person responsible for monitoring flagged crossing): Phone: E-mail: Alternate Contact Name: Phone: E-mail: I/We agree to the following if this adoption is approved (please initial each item you agree to). The Safe Community Coalition will help guide you through these steps. See the Adopt-A- Crosswalk brochure or the Coalition s website at www.safecommunitycoalition.org for more information about these items as well as sample materials. Initials Contact and elicit the support of neighborhood residents and businesses near this crossing about the pedestrian crossing flag program. Educate neighborhood residents and businesses near this crossing on how the pedestrian crossing flags are to be used. Monitor and maintain the supply of flags at the crossing. A funding source has been identified for replacement flags (approximately $200/year, depending on theft rate). Notify the Safe Community Coalition if you/your organization will no longer be able to fulfill these agreements. If your group agrees to adopt this location, and local traffic authorities support the use of flags at this location, and grant funds and materials are available, the Safe Community Coalition will provide a grant of materials and educational brochures for you to use to promote and assemble a flagged crossing. Once flags from the starter kit are gone (some will be stolen) the Sponsor becomes responsible for replacements. Sponsor s Representative Signature: This space for Safe Community Coalition Use only
Safe Community Coalition of Madison and Dane County 256-6713 scc@safecommunitycoalition.org www.safecommunitycoalition.org Thanks to Arthur Ross and Tom Walsh, City of Madison Traffic Engineering; Officer Stacey Vilas and Captain George Silverwood, Madison Police Department; and Ann Clark, Dudgeon-Monroe Neighborhood Association, for their work to develop this brochure and the Pedestrian Flags Over Dane County Project.