Whether by force of habit, or youthful inattention, or something else, some pedestrians arent yet using at least some of the new pedestrian islands installed in a handful of locations around the county.

You do have that. Im not sure why, Steve Decker, Athens-Clarke Countys traffic engineer, said when asked about the number of pedestrians who are continuing to cross streets without the protection of an island in places where an island is now available.

I dont know whether its habit; something theyve always done, Decker said, explaining that most of the problems are on Cedar Shoals Drive.

The pedestrian islands were installed close to the edges of the Cedar Shoals High School campus, one near Barrington Drive and another near Laurie Drive, and it is mostly the young people who live in nearby apartments and other residential areas who are eschewing the pedestrian islands, according to Decker.

The islands are two sets of raised concrete curbing installed in the turn lanes of Cedar Shoals Drive. Other islands are installed in the middle of an intown stretch of Prince Avenue, and on Milledge Avenue between Broad and Baxter streets with a sidewalk-width walkway between them.

The islands give pedestrians a respite from having to traverse multiple lanes of traffic.

On Cedar Shoals Drive and Prince Avenue, the islands and their associated crosswalks are equipped with pedestrian-activated flashing yellow beacons to alert motorists to stop until the crosswalk is clear of pedestrians. Because Milledge Avenue is a state route, the county could not install the beacons at those islands, Decker explained.

I think its mostly going to be a matter of education, Decker said when asked how the county would address the issue of people not using the pedestrian islands.

Decker said he has already talked with the countys public information officer, Jeff Montgomery, and they have begun sifting through some ideas for some immediate educational initiative. Ultimately, Decker said, hed like to involve county parks personnel, police officers and University of Georgia representatives in planning an educational initiative.

For the longer term, according to Decker, there is the bicycle and pedestrian master plan currently under development in conjunction with Toole Design Group, a consulting firm working under a $200,000 contract with the county. The final plan, which will be ready for county commission review next spring, will include an educational component. It is that longer-term approach that ultimately will change ingrained pedestrian behavior, Decker said.

Decker said the pedestrian islands on Prince Avenue have worked well, and in addition to providing some assistance to pedestrians, have also served to slow vehicular traffic along the intown section of the street.

The islands are a bargain in comparison with the cost of installing traffic lights to regulate pedestrian flow at traditional intersection-based crosswalks. The concrete islands themselves now being filled with soil and planted with vegetation cost somewhere around $4,200, Decker said, and the roadside flashing beacons, which are solar-powered, add another $7,000 to the cost. Even if the islands themselves are eventually equipped with flashing beacons to provide additional warning to motorists that pedestrians are present, the total cost still wont approach the cost of installing a traffic signal, Decker said.

The pedestrian islands are the result of work done by a roadway safety audit team, an idea put in place by Decker.

Rather than relying solely on input from his departments engineering specialists, Decker assembled a team comprising police officers, Athens Transit bus drivers, Clarke County School District personnel and even county clerical personnel who regularly drive local roads to assess local transportation safety needs.

The pedestrian islands represent the first round of work by the audit team, Decker said. The team is already working on a second round of traffic safety assessments.

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Official: Education needed to increase pedestrian island use - Online Athens