Comments on: Marked Crosswalks and the Raquel Nelson Case

By: Andy Hayes

Andy Hayes — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 01:33:00 +0000

In 1967, I moved from the east to sunny California. Two things about California driving astonished me - right turn on red, and the fact that everyone - and I mean everyone, I even saw a group of Hell’s Angels doing it once - stopped for pedestrians at cross streets, even where there was no marked crosswalk. This was true in both LA and the Bay area. I moved away in the 70s, and didn’t return til 1988, when apparently everything had changed - Cal drivers paid no more attention to peds than NY or Pittsburgh drivers did.

By: Murray

Murray — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 11:44:27 +0000

@ Brian G, the reason that bridges are dismal is that they often (almost always) require people to walk up stairs, requiring extra effort. Most planners who consider human behaviour realises that humans are essentially lazy and will often cross a busy road “at level’ rather than use a bridge.

Unless they are well integrated into the environment and convenient to use, bridges aren’t well used.

It also gives the impression that the movement of cars is more important than the movement of people.

By: gpsman

gpsman — Sun, 21 Aug 2011 01:39:30 +0000

Crosswalks seem obsolete. Just another thing busy motorists have no time to look for.

Seems best to not suggest any ROW to the defenseless pedestrian. Let people cross wherever, to match traffic doing whatever, whenever.

It’s every man for himself out there. Restricting pedestrians to crosswalks is a handicap. Anyone can run over one in a crosswalk.

By: Sally Flocks

Sally Flocks — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 17:05:10 +0000

To increase safety at this location, a crosswalk would need to be supplemented by a pedestrian-activated HAWK signal, Rectangular Rapid Flash Beacons, and/or embedded crosswalk lighting. Without these, motorists traveling over 35 mph are unlikely to stop at marked crosswalks. The bus stop should also be relocated to where the median is 16 feet wide. It is currently located adjacent to a section of the road where a left turn lane had reduced the median width to just 3 feet.

By: Joyce

Joyce — Sat, 06 Aug 2011 16:55:45 +0000

I have seen widely different crosswalk behavior by motorists in different U.S. states (though maybe it’s actually determined at the municipal level, I don’t know). California vs. Tennessee and Missouri: no comparison!

My gloomy foreboding is that the only thing that will be done to “improve safety” on this road is that the bus stop in question will be removed.

By: mike

mike — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 01:18:31 +0000

Here in the UK, ‘zebra’ crossings are well respected, with most cars stopping if they see a pedestrian about to cross. These crossing are frequently unsignalled (ie, just paint), though signalled crossings are common too.

The police rarely enforce driver behaviour - it’s simply an accepted norm that cars stop for peds on zebra crossings.

For that reason, a motorist who hit a person using one of these crossings would be in big trouble: large fine, suspended licence, potential community or jail term.

Overtaking on a crossing is expressly forbidden and you’d almost certainly go to jail if you ran someone over in that way.

By: Mike Chalkley

Mike Chalkley — Tue, 02 Aug 2011 13:55:11 +0000

45mph is far too fast for roads where pedestrians have to cross.
I agree fully with the enforcement comments above - driver attitude can only be changed if there is real dis-incentive to break the law.
How about income-linked fines for motoring offences such as they have in Switzerland?

By: Eileen

Eileen — Tue, 02 Aug 2011 01:44:50 +0000

There was an unmarked crosswalk pretty close to where Raquel Nelson and the rest of the pedestrian group that night crossed — most likely not used because they didn’t know it would have made a difference in whether she’d been charged (though probably not in whether her son was killed). I don’t think marking it would’ve made it safer without regular enforcement.

I think the simplest solution is to rewrite all laws so that pedestrians always have the right of way, except against emergency vehicles responding to an emergency, and then enforce with fines and automatic license suspension (and community service or prison + license revocation for repeat offenders).

By: Kevin Love

Kevin Love — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 01:33:37 +0000

Philipp,

It is unfortunate that you have had such bad experiences. I note that the Government of Ontario reports that Ontario has the safest roads in North America. See:

http://www.mto.gov.on.ca/english/safety/orsar/orsar08/orsar-2008-en.pdf

By: Opus the Poet

Opus the Poet — Sun, 31 Jul 2011 22:48:40 +0000

Perhaps something more concrete to make drivers stop for pedestrians like a physical barrier at the crosswalk? Personally I like the anti-terrorist gates used in DC installed at all marked crosswalks as a good use of my tax dollars for the R&D for the motorized anti-terrorist gates designed to stop (permanently) a fully loaded semi truck and trailer.