The Human-Scale Design Podcast

Traffic signals for bikes, with Peter Koonce

presented by SCC

Peter Koonce works for the City of Portland, Oregon. He oversees the city’s traffic signal systems, which now includes systems for bikes. That’s right, traffic signals dedicated to bicyclists. Peter and I had a chance to talk during the Transportation Research Board’s (TRB) 92nd Annual Meeting in Washington, DC. TRB is where 10,000 academics and practitioners converge to learn from each other, and hopefully challenge each other.

Portland wasn’t always a super bike-friendly city. And even now, less than 10% of the city’s population commutes via bike. Ever wonder how traffic engineers figure out ways for bike traffic to safely navigate intersections? Cities around the world have been experimenting with various signs and lighting techniques. While Peter was at TRB, he and some colleagues presented material about Portland’s use and opinion on traffic signals for bikes.

 

I thought traffic engineers opposed good urbanism!

Sure, many times traffic engineers are philosophically opposed to good urbanism. Because the field of traffic engineering is generally biased against walking and bicycling. But there are transportation professionals out there (like Peter Koonce) trying to solve problems systematically. Not just taking short cuts that increase motor vehicle traffic speeds at the expense of local safety and culture.

 

Connect with our guest

It’s pretty easy to find Peter Koonce online if you spell his name correctly. Follow the links below to connect with him.

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