Ten minutes or two? Driver perception outpaces reality on Jasper Avenue
One in four drivers reported delays of 10 minutes on their morning commute through the contentious Jasper Avenue pilot project last summer.
The official stopwatches? Two minutes.
That discrepancy between perception and reality was one finding city officials released Thursday when they reported on their ongoing effort to redesign Edmonton’s premier downtown street.
Officials suggest some drivers felt the delay more keenly because of how quickly the pilot project was implemented.
Temporary concrete barriers and tree pots went up almost overnight, tightening the turning radius at the intersections and shortening crosswalks for pedestrians. Small parks and picnic tables were an extra, an attempt to give residents a sense of how livable the street could become if it were redesigned.
Overall, it was a successful test, said Rob Gibbard, director of transportation and design. It confirmed general traffic delays, proved the changes would decrease speeding and gave the team data to improve the permanent design.
They also gathered data that illustrated just how prevalent pedestrians are on the corridor. During the lunch break, there are actually more people walking than driving on Jasper Avenue east of 109 Street.
City officials counted the average number of vehicles and people walking on Jasper Avenue as part of last summer’s pilot project. CITY OF EDMONTON
The team spent eight days measuring volume and vehicle travel delays during the pilot project, recording delays by driving repeatedly up and down the corridor at the busiest times of the day.
“We got lots of good feedback … It was really good to see the speed reduction,” said Gibbard, pointing to a 10 per cent reduction in speeding.
Compliance with the 50 km/h limit was 73 to 79 per cent before the pilot project and 86 to 95 per cent during the pilot. That increased safety for everyone, he said.
