New intersection, old problems: University Ave at University Bay/Farley

The University Ave reconstruction in Madison, Wisconsin is on hold during the winter, but much of the intersection at Farley Ave and University Bay Drive is in its final state. We can now see how some of the design choices work in practice. Spoiler: They don't work great for people crossing the intersection on foot. Given that this intersection sees a lot of foot traffic from the bus stops and the proximity of the VA and UW Hospitals, that's a problem. Small fixes are still possible, but once you have an intersection of this size and slip lanes and multiple turn lanes, dangers for pedestrians remain.

[@craigweinhold]

Also, note that the City is experimenting with different light patterns. The one in your video has Farley and University Bay share a green light, just like pre-construction. That was a minor nightmare for left-turning cars at rush hour and for ped crossings all day long. But the City has also had times where Farley and U-Bay each get their own phase with a green + left turn light, just like Midvale Ave did pre-construction. The separate greens worked great, especially in combination with the new large east-side ped refuge. I hope they keep make the separate phases permanent.

[@EngMadison]

The split phase was due to construction staging. It adds a lot of time to the cycle and increases delay. The common green is likely to stay, but some other changes to separate crosswalk users and SBLT drivers may be coming to address the concern mentioned, but not shown here.

[@craigweinhold]

The NTOR sign is much too high to be seen from most vehicles. Drivers at the slip lane stop line see only the erroneous "Turning Vehicles Yield To Peds" sign, which suggests that turning on red is okay. City T.E. has indicated they will remove the yield sign. Hopefully they move the NTOR sign down into its place.

[@hobbesvsboyle]

I reminded the city that they still haven't fixed the contradictory signs. I was promised action within the next two weeks.