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Council moves to ban right turns on red at Washington and Lucas to protect pedestrians
Summary
After residents and members raised pedestrian-safety concerns at the complex Washington/Lucas intersection, the committee voted to add four-way no-right-on-red signage; staff were asked to provide implementation costs and signal alternatives (LPI, controller upgrades) for follow-up.
Committee members described recurring "close calls" for pedestrians—including schoolchildren—at the Washington and Lucas intersection and asked the city to remove the ability to make right turns on red in all directions. A ward representative framed the request as part of a larger pedestrian-improvement effort tied to sidewalk grants and school routes.
During discussion staff outlined alternatives including a leading pedestrian interval (LPI), upgraded signal controllers with detection cameras, four-way exclusive pedestrian phases and improved crosswalk features. Staff said the current signal controller cannot support LPI without replacement and estimated that swapping a controller and adding detection could run into the tens of thousands of dollars. One committee member said the change "would make this a substantially safer intersection" and the committee moved and approved a resolution to add four-way no-right-on-red signage; the body asked staff for cost estimates and implementation steps as follow-up.
