Sunday, March 09, 2008
I just sent this letter to the municipal Engineering department, the Mayor and City Council:
In late October or early November I saw city workers repaving the four-way stop intersection of [Avenue] and [Street]. Temporary stop lines were painted but no temporary crosswalk lines were painted. This makes it extremely dangerous for pedestrians to cross the street, as cars seem to be less inclined to stop for people wanting to cross the street. Moreover, drivers seem to adhere less stringently to the four-way stop signs. This is a serious concern to me as I live in the neighbourhood and frequently need to use the crosswalks at this intersection.
It has been nearly six months since the crews have finished repaving this intersection. Would it be possible to paint the crosswalk lines soon? This is a grave matter of pedestrian safety.
Without re-painting the lines the job isn't done and it is unacceptable that it has taken this long to complete this task. A boy that lives nearby was hit by a car at this intersection a few years ago. A month ago I was crossing this intersection going Northwest when an elderly woman blew the stop sign heading Southeast (there are other issues with this).
The crosswalks in this community are dangerous because the drivers are inattentive. Further down this same street at the main intersection with a street lamp I've seen drivers making left-turns and nearly missing mothers pushing baby carriages (I've seen this happen more than once, the pedestrian had the right-of-way because the "walk" sign was illuminated). At this same intersection I've almost been hit by a car wanting to turn right when it was my turn to cross (the woman driving smiled and waved at me when she noticed me on the curb).
Another crosswalk just West of this one has had numerous accidents. There is debate over whether the crosswalk is poorly designed; the crosswalk is not at an intersection and is pedestrian-activated, but instead of a flashing green traffic light that turns red to stop traffic, amber lights simply flash "to increase motorists’ awareness of the presence of a pedestrian by improving their visibility to approaching traffic." However, I find that frequently drivers are in too much of a hurry. Instead of stopping to let the pedestrian cross, they try to save the 45 seconds it would otherwise take by speeding through.
Of course the lesson we learn as children to "stop and look both ways before crossing the street" is an important one, but pedestrian caution and awareness is only half of it and is not infallible. I guess I just feel that my odds of getting hit have been heightened.Labels: March 2008, transit
posted by Vanessa at 3:35 PM
