A Tale of Two Cities - and an Island Resort - in Asia: Hazards Grow for Pedestrians and Bicyclists

This article presents a discussion of various traffic safety hazards in two cities in China and a small tourist island in Thailand, from the perspective of three graduate students. The article is based on a seminar the students presented at U.C. Berkeley’s Traffic Safety Center. The first describe Jinan, where transportation officials have pushed bicyclists off roads to make more room for motor vehicles, and the ensuing clash between bicyclists and pedestrians. In Fushun, meter-high barricades installed to keep cars from parking on or crashing into sidewalks prohibit pedestrians from crossing streets except every half-mile where intersections occur. Skybridges, also provided for crossing streets at these intersections, are unpopular with most pedestrians, as they prefer jaywalking to using the skybridges. On the tiny island of Koh Lanta Yai, tourists and natives get around on motor bikes and motor bikes equipped with a bench along one side for passengers. These so-called “skylaps” frequently topple over. No sidewalks or shoulders make pedestrian or bicycle travel dangerous.

• Authors:
  • Cosgrove, Christine
• Publication Date: 2007

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Print
• Features: Appendices; Photos;
• Pagination: 4p
• Serial:
  • Traffic Safety Center Online Newsletter
  • Volume: 4
  • Issue Number: 3

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Bicycles; Bicycling; Cyclists; Pedestrians; Traffic safety
• Geographic Terms: Fushun (China); Jinan (China); Thailand
• Subject Areas: Highways; Pedestrians and Bicyclists; Safety and Human Factors;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01085872
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: UC Berkeley Transportation Library
• Files: BTRIS, TRIS
• Created Date: Jan 28 2008 10:04AM