Cars versus Pedestrians on Mt. Hope Avenue

Drivers rule the neighborhood along Mt. Hope Avenue north of College Town and residents who live near there are fed up with the unsafe conditions caused by chronic speeding. They sent a petition to the city to address the dangerous and hostile conditions for cyclist and pedestrians on the stretch of Mt. Hope north of the intersection with Elwood Ave (map at left).

The posted speed limit there is 30 MPH. But it is common to see drivers going 40-50 MPH. Drivers speed through the curve in the road between Linden St. and Highland Ave, and careen through the stretch of road that has residential homes, University of Rochester residences, small businesses, two care facilities, a senior living community, Mt. Hope Cemetery and Highland Park. Lots of people walk and bike along the sidewalks in that area and there have been many crashes involving both pedestrians and other vehicles:

• a vehicle was split in two when it crashed into a tree of a private residence
• while trying to cross the street, an employee of the Episcopal Home was struck by a car
• a vehicle crashed into 3 school buses (full of students) near Linden St.
• a car crashed into a street light, which came toppling down across the sidewalk
• a car jumped the sidewalk and ran over the fence of a U of R residence
• multi-car crashes near Linden and Cypress

Drivers chronically ignore pedestrian crossing signs that take visitors on foot to Mt. Hope Cemetery. Along that stretch, drivers swerve around pedestrians trying to cross, rather than waiting.

At the urging of the South Wedge Planning Committee, the residents requested an enforcement detail. RPD provided one for a few days this past November. 150 speeding tickets were issued in just those few days.

Speeding along that stretch of Mt. Hope Avenue is a danger to everyone — whether they are inside a car or out. But the danger to pedestrians and cyclists is more dire. And the residents who witness and live with the conditions every day are fed up. This is, after all, a street along which people live, work and play. It is not a highway, yet drivers treat it as one.

Here are the proposed action items residents asked for in the petition:

• Implement regular, consistent police enforcement of the speed limit (indispensable).
• Install traffic light at Robinson Drive, Menlo Place, McLean Street, and/or Linden Street (either a full red/green/yellow light or a flashing yellow caution light).
• Reduce speed limit to 25 m.p.h.
• Install permanent mid-street “Pedestrian Crossing” signs at Robinson Drive, Menlo Place, McLean Street, and/or Linden Street.
• Move radar speed monitor from crest of hill to mid-hill and re-calibrate speed monitor (currently it under-reports actual speed).
• Institute red light camera enforcement at existing traffic light at Mt. Hope Ave. and Cypress Streets (drivers will proceed with more caution once they learn that a red light camera has been installed).
• Add more lamp post banners or other signage to slow down drivers as they encounter and read them.
• Institute camera speed enforcement.

If you have driven along this stretch of Mt. Hope recently, you will notice a second temporary mobile speed limit monitoring unit (those things that flash your speed) provided by the city.

For more information, contact: info@swpc.org

Do you live, walk, bike or drive along this stretch of Mt. Hope Avenue? What do you think will help combat chronic speeding?

Written by: Renee
Tags: rochester pedestrian safety, pedestrian safety rochester, walkability rochester, rochester bike safey, cycling rochester, mt. hope avenue, speeding on mt. hope avenue,

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  Renee

  Thanks for your comment, Bob! Even if you don’t live in the neighborhood, email the city to let them know your thoughts about how it is to be a pedestrian in the area. The more they hear from people, the more they know about how dangerous it is to be on foot or bicycle around there.

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  Rory Pelliccia

  I work for WROC. If I was trying to get in contact with the people that started the petition who would I contact?

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  Claire Marziotti

  Amen, Bob Schriever. I (attempt to) cross at Robinson almost every day. It is incredibly rare for someone to stop at the crosswalk (this includes RPD, RCSD vehicles, Monroe Co sheriffs, etc.). People FLY in this section of Mount Hope. I have had cars speed up to “scare” me out of the crosswalk, cars have actually touched me as they flew past while I was IN the crosswalk. People in cars will scream and curse at you for using the crosswalk. Once a car blew past me in the crosswalk, missed me by a foot, and the cop sitting in his car at Robinson and Mt Hope watching DID NOTHING. On the rare occasion when a car stops for me, it almost always has out-of-states plates. When I travel to other cities, motorists seem to understand the crosswalk. Rochesterians need to be educated.

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  Bob Schriever

  Renee- can you supply a good email contact?

  Claire- my favorite thing is the pedestrian right of way sign that invariably gets run over a couple days after they put it up!

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  Claire Marziotti

  Those signs actually help a little bit, for the three days or so they last. I would like to see a light that is activated by pedestrians wishing to cross.

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  Renee

  The South Wedge Planning Committee is the point of contact and a meeting was held about it last Wednesday. Contact info@swpc.org for more information.

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  Renee

  We have one of those signs on Park Ave and I take a picture of it every time someone flattens it. It’s symbolic of where we pedestrians are in the pecking order around here.

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  Caitlin Meives

  Thanks for this topic! Much needed. Just yesterday I was running through the neighborhood (around 5:30pm) and tried to cross Mt Hope at the crosswalk (with a big bright green pedestrian sign) at Reservoir. It was impossible to find an opening in traffic in both directions so once there was an opening in the northbound lane, I dashed out to the middle of the street and hoped for the best. Cars heading south continued to whiz by me (above the speed limit) without so much as a passing glance. Even despite my wild gesticulations and disgusted facial expressions. I could not believe the complete and total disregard for pedestrian safety that these drivers exhibited. I really think Rochesterians are actively hostile towards cyclists and pedestrians. What can be done to change this?