Sometimes I wonder whether a bucket of paint, a couple of signs, a few fiberglass cones, some timing software, or a bunch of concrete barriers can alter the way we drive in the city. The well-timed traffic light can’t be beat on busy intersections, but it’s the pedestrians that remains at risk. The problem is that the walker and the car turning right at the corner are both moving on the same green light. Lives can be saved. I would propose that the pedestrians be given their own well-timed light while motor traffic is stopped in all directions. To minimize the amount of that halt time, pedestrians should be permitted to not only cross in one direction but crisscross to the diagonal corner. Here’s where the bucket of paint comes into play—lines to show the available and permitted crossing paths. This type of pedestrian flow is available in other parts of the world and just now beginning in some U.S. cities.

Have you ever been stalled in a line of cars waiting for the first car to turn left in the middle of the block? The traffic flow in the opposite direction doesn’t permit the first car to turn. Well, traffic circles and no left turns can alleviate these delays. The first car doesn’t stop. It proceeds to the corner and around the circle to the now right turn which can be efficiently made without stoppage. A simple traffic circle can be erected with three or four concrete barriers and some appropriate signage. The circle is also an effective tool in slowing down the speed of traffic in areas of heavy foot traffic.

We need more of them. Lets get rid of those corners and turn them into circles.