Pedestrians ‘have the right of way,’ but do they get it in Fort Wayne?

You've probably heard it said: "pedestrians have the right of way." But do they actually get it in Fort Wayne?
A reader asked us about a specific intersection in town where they say neither drivers, nor pedestrians are taking advantage of new traffic safety features.
"I have a concern about the lack of interest (?) in the relatively newly installed pedestrian crossing signals. I've seen them work very well in places that are already pretty pedestrian-friendly (e.g. college towns), but here they seem to be ignored. I'm not sure that pedestrians know that they are available, how they work, and what they can expect; just as (if not more) importantly, do vehicles know what the flashing lights mean and what they are supposed to do when they see them? There is one close to my house, at the corner of Creighton and Hoagland, a block from Fairfield and just up from a Dollar Store (i.e. lots of foot traffic). When I've been on that corner, and someone presses the walk button, I have never a car even slow down, let alone stop. Perhaps some attention could be drawn to these not-inexpensive and well-intentioned additions to our streets?"
To learn more: we did some research and sat down with Philip LaBrash, a traffic engineer for the City of Fort Wayne.
How have Fort Wayne's crossings changed to be safer for drivers and pedestrians in recent years, and what inspired the changes?
PL: There are two primary ways we improve pedestrian safety. The first way is we build new and separate dedicated facilities for pedestrian and bicycles to remove pedestrians and bicycle streams from vehicular traffic streams. Separated sidewalks and trails are how we do that primarily.
The other way we improve pedestrian safety is to provide additional safety infrastructure next to roads, sidewalks, and trails to raise awareness about them. That relates to the reader’s question about the flashing lights on the crossing at Creighton and Hoagland. It is essentially an enhanced road sign. Whereas a standard pedestrian sign has no lights, this one has solar lights attached to it, and we like to implement those (often temporarily) in areas where it’s a new sign or conveying a change in traffic patterns.
For instance, an example a little more on the traffic regulation side is: We recently installed stop signs at Value Drive and Progress Road near Costco. That was a new traffic pattern established when we added the stop signs, so we made sure to use solar-powered flashing lights attached to those signs, so it draws the drivers’ eye, and they realize it’s a new condition where they now have to stop; whereas they used to be able to drive through without stopping.
Industry-wide, we’ve seen the availability of solar-powered flashing lights on signage become more accepted because the price has become more cost-effective. In the case of Creighton and Hoagland, it’s a fairly recent new sign installation, so the flashing lights are primarily to raise awareness that pedestrians are there and might want to cross. (You can push a button to activate lights on the sign.) Historically, there’s long been a crosswalk at Creighton and Hoagland, but we updated it by changing the pavement markings to piano keys (or zebra stripes), and we installed new pedestrian signs as another visual reminder, alerting drivers that pedestrians are present.
Why might pedestrians and drivers not be paying attention to the flashing light at Creighton and Hoagland?
PL: To be clear, the flashing sign at Creighton and Hoagland is not actually intended to change traffic patterns and cause vehicles to stop (if a pedestrian is not present). Vehicle traffic is not expected to stop whenever the sign’s lights are flashing. The flashing lights are just there as an awareness tool when somebody is looking to cross the street, but it doesn’t turn into a stop or yield condition for vehicle traffic, in general. The lack of stop or yield signs for vehicles on Creighton mean they can cross the intersection with Hoagland without stopping, but that doesn’t change the fact that they have to yield to pedestrians crossing the intersection. It’s worthwhile to remind drivers that they are to always yield to pedestrians in the crosswalk and to be aware of their surroundings, especially when signs and pavement markings are indicating the possibility of pedestrians crossing the street.
Are flashing lights at pedestrian crossings something we’re likely to see more of in Fort Wayne?
PL: It’s a newer technology in the past five to 10 years to include these sorts of light enhancements in designs, and we’re still observing how people react to them and sorting out what’s going to work best for the city moving forward. The major factor in that is drivers’ expectations. If we are consistent in what we’re adding to the built environment, then people will know how to react, and react correctly. I think these technologies aren’t widespread enough yet, so when people encounter them on some intersections, it feels like a new situation.
When an intersection or traffic pattern in the city is changed, how is the community notified?
PL: A lot of times, these sort of projects (like the sign at Creighton and Hoagland) are done in conjunction with the neighborhood’s approval and recommendations. Since they are the primary users of that crossing, we want to make sure they are aware of it, and the solar-powered flashing lights serve as an enhanced warning to vehicle traffic.
Will the flashing lights on pedestrian crossings remain indefinitely, or will they go away after a set period of time as the community adapts to changes?
PL: It depends on the application. In the case of the Value Drive and Progress Road flashing lights on stop signs: Our plan is to keep them as flashing lights for six months or so until traffic patterns become accustomed. We think that’s enough time for vehicle patterns to adjust. At that point, we’ll switch to the standard stop signs without flashing lights. I’m not sure about the lights at Creighton and Hoagland. But it’s reviewed on a case-by-case basis.
How does the city determine where different types of crossing treatments go?
PL: It’s really a case-by-case scenario. If we know there’s a point of interest or destination for pedestrians, and we get feedback from neighborhoods that there’s a location where they typically cross the street, we will provide that. If we’re at an intersection where traffic is already stopped or signalized, it’s easy to put in crosswalks. But in the case of Creighton and Hoagland, because it is an uncontrolled intersection (no traffic lights), we wanted to provide an additional visual reminder that pedestrians would be crossing there.
Are there ways residents can request pedestrian safety measures on their streets?
PL: Speed studies are something we do based on requests, on occasion. The neighborhood typically has a liaison with Community Development, or they can email the traffic engineering department at traffic@cityoffortwayne.org, and we can address the request from there.
How it works is: Once neighborhoods request speed studies to be performed, we set up radar speed signs that track the speeds of vehicles in that area and record them. We typically post those for one to three days and compile that information to get a snapshot of the speeds along that street. That can further inform us if there is a speeding issue, and what we can do to improve speeds or raise awareness that people are driving too fast. Neighborhoods can also petition to lower speed limits within their neighborhoods.
We remember seeing stories last year about lowering neighborhood speed limits. Tell us more about that project.
PL: Last year, I did a couple of interviews about making a systematic change to neighborhood streets in Fort Wayne. Indiana state law says that if your roadway is in an urban neighborhood, and it isn’t an arterial (busy) route, the speed on that street is automatically 30 mph. What we’d like to do (and what we’re working on right now) is a systemwide change to make all neighborhood streets to be 25 mph instead of 30 mph. We realize that signage doesn’t necessarily impact driver behavior as much as other factors, but the change from 30 to 25 mph would help speeds stay slower in neighborhoods.
Nationally, roadway fatalities (and specifically pedestrian fatalities) rose during the pandemic, despite fewer people being on the roads (due to remote work, stay home orders, etc.). Did Fort Wayne see a similar trend, and where do things stand now? (We saw this story on WPTA 21, which shared some data on pedestrian fatalities.)
PL: Generally speaking, Fort Wayne did see a rise in overall vehicle crashes during the pandemic, similar to national trends. But since 2023, those numbers have trended back down to more expected levels.
To improve the situation (nationally), the U.S. Department of Transportation has committed to a vision of zero traffic fatalities through a Safe System Approach, which it defines as: 1) Safer Crossings, 2) Appropriate Driving Speeds and 3) Improved Visibility. Has Fort Wayne committed to a similar “vision zero” plan, and if so, what's being done to enforce that or make sure the community stays accountable to achieve it?
PL: Fort Wayne is one of the communities that has signed onto a Comprehensive Safety Action Plan developed by NIRCC (Northeast Indiana Regional Coordinating Council). They are the planning organization for the Northeast Indiana area (Allen County, Fort Wayne and New Haven). Within their Safety Action Plan is a “toward vision zero” policy statement (see page 4). (Editor’s note: NIRCC’s Safety Action Plan is not technically “vision zero”; instead, it’s reducing “road related fatal and serious injury crashes by 50% in Allen County by the year 2045” based on a five-year rolling average.) NIRCC also monitors and reports crash data on an annual basis to track our progress toward that goal.
What else has the city done to reduce speed limits and address visibility at crossings?
PL: A regular thing the city does is: Our Right of Way Department maintains everything within the city’s right of way. That includes maintaining visibility by cutting back brush and other things impeding the visibility at intersections. They also enforce encroachments or fences--things that get built in the city's right of way that shouldn’t be there to make sure visibility is still provided. The other systematic thing we do at the city is: Right-sizing lanes based on the posted speed limit of our streets. That primarily happens when we’re doing asphalt resurfacing projects. Every year, we resurface various roadways across the city, and that’s an opportune time to reset where pavement markings get placed, so we reduce lane widths to 11 feet, or even down to 10 feet, in places where we think lane reductions will be an effective way to have drivers slow down. Being closer to traffic is a cue to them. People naturally slow down with narrower lane widths.
What funding has Fort Wayne received from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law in 2021, and how has this funding been utilized?
PL: The city received around $36M in funding from four different grants: Safe Streets For All (SS4A), the Rebuilding American Infrastructure with
Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) grant, the Promoting Resilient Operations for Transformative, Efficient, and Cost-saving Transportation (PROTECT) grant and most recently, the Railroad Safety grant. We’ve been very successful, with Patrick Zaharako, our City Engineer, securing that funding in the last 18 months, and many of those grants will be making progress within the next five years.
What else is happening in 2025 related to traffic safety goals?
PL: There are some big projects being constructed in 2025. The Leesburg Road Extension project is being constructed this year. Some safety features in that project are a roundabout at Leesburg Road and Main Street. Then there’s going to be a signalized intersection installed by Sweetcars on Jefferson, and that will eliminate a left turn from Jefferson onto Main Street, which is a precarious turn right now. There will be sidewalks on that project, as well. You can learn more at a “Meet the Contractor” meeting one week from Wednesday at VSW off Leesburg Road.
There’s another “Meet the Contractor” meeting this Wednesday for the Bluffton Road Bridge project. It will be at the Parks Pavilion off Bluffton Road across from the Clyde Theatre. Bluffton Road Bridge is having its superstructure replaced, and there’s going to be wider pedestrian infrastructure included on top of the bridge, as well as better trail construction over river and connecting to Foster Park.
There are also some minor projects underway. There’s a new route for a sidewalk project we’ve constructed on Goeglein Road and Stellhorn. North Clinton is also going to see sidewalks on both sides of the road between Coliseum Boulevard and St. Joe Center Road.