But the low-cost measure is a far cry from the ambitious original plan suggested by neighbors that would have seen a half-dozen, meter-wide speed humps positioned around the busy traffic circle.
Instead, the SVT has installed yellow, metallic, knob-like bump patterns in two locations around the well-known Guadalajara glorieta that vehicles don’t actually have to pass over but feed traffic into the inside and outside lanes with the aim of giving pedestrians a better chance of crossing the glorieta. Speed limit signs of 30 kilometers an hour have also been erected.
Striped yellow pedestrian crossings have been painted on the road surfaces where the “bumps” are located, along with “walk” signs. The SVT says these create “safe areas” in the middle lane between the bumps that allow pedestrians to wait for traffic to subside, and make the tricky road crossing in two stages.
However, there is a real danger (noticed twice by this reporter in the space of 15 minutes this week) that drivers (especially those unfamiliar with the glorieta) will ignore the bumps and cross straight over them.
“Knowing the drivers here, I’m not waiting in the middle of the street, bumps or no bumps,” said Rosana Romero, a housewife who likes to walk in the tree-filled glorieta several mornings a week. She crossed the street safely Wednesday morning but noted that it felt “just as complicated as usual.”A valet parking attendant (he did not wish to be named) at one of the restaurants bordering the glorieta described the measure as “useless – it makes no sense. Pedestrians are still crossing wherever they like. And the drivers don’t know what to do. It isn’t making them drive any slower. ”
A different view was suggested by Ricardo Rivera, infrastructure director at the SVT.
“These glorietas are being used a lot in Europe to distribute traffic. They don’t need stop lights, they slow down traffic and don’t put people at risk.”
Rivera said the SVT took the “economic” measure because the Chapalita neighborhood association was unable to create a consensus for their original plan, which was criticized by some traffic experts because it would almost certainly have caused traffic jams at peak hours.
Rivera also said the neighborhood association had failed to come up with the two million pesos they had originally promised to contribute to the project.
“This is a cheaper option for the first stage of the project,” he said.