For Pedestrians…
A year or so ago I complained about a lack of properly marked cross walks at the Carrol College area, on East ave.
The students where crossing wherever they saw an opening in traffic, and the lone cross walk was pretty much ignored by all.
Not a safe situation.
Last year, the City fixed that. They added two (for a total of three) clearly marked cross walks, and both drivers and walkers are handling them with ease.
No complaints there, they are nicely layed out.
My problem is with the intersection of East and College. Someone seemed to have drew out a nice pretty plan, but failed to think it through.
A week ago I was driving South on East, stopped at the red light at the intersection.
The light turned green, the car before me started through, no problem.
And then, death glanced our way.
Some idiot college student jumped into the cross walk, and was nearly clipped by the car in front of me, the car broke quickly, the student stopped inches from being hit, and the car drove on, through the green light.
I thought the kid missed something. I looked.. yup, green light, I looked again… yup, the orange “do not walk” light was on. And still the kid was bent on walking through traffic.
…I was ticked, I moved ahead, hoping the idiot would grow some brains and get back on the sidewalk… no such luck.
Having put on his horse blinders, he walked in front of my big white van! (And my van is BIG ya’ll) So, I did what I always do whenever I come up to an idiot on the road, I layed on the horn… I layed into it for a good long time.
…A few choice words somehow found their way out my window in the general direction of said fool. …The comment had something to do with the apparent lack of intelligence possessed by his gluteus maximus. …”Dumb a##” I think it was…
He (the idiot) did something I’ve never seen before, he pointed angrily to the ground, and mouthed something having to do with his right to walk… or something.
I was flabbergasted.
I was even MORE flabbergasted when I looked at the cross walk he was in, and there where cross hatches in his cross walk!!! The same cross hatches marked in the three other cross walks in the area!!!
WHAT THE?!?!
It seems some fool in our fair city thought it a wise idea to give the intersection a confusing mix of traffic lights, cross walk lights, and for some inexplicable reason, a frig’n cross walk lane!!!
Think about it…
This means, that when a driver see’s a green light, and especially if they are careful enough to glance and make sure the “do no cross” light it indeed lit, they will do as they have been trained, they will drive.
Mix that with some college student who no matter what driving laws are in place, no matter what natural drive for survival my cause whatever blaring alarms to off in their little mush filled heads, who because the mystical magical cross hatches are in the desired path of their foot pounding, they – will – walk !
Now, lets work this out, shall we?
First, the trained, experienced driver…
second, the “I am invincible” spoiled, up and coming liberal student…
And the law of nature that says the 3000 pound metallic piece of death on wheels will always win in ANY sumo battle with a 195 pound bookworm…
And you will have trouble, sooner or later… you will have trouble.
And by “trouble”, I mean death.
…or at least a broken femur or two.
A question for our City Fathers…. Do you really expect some inattentive driver to pay attention to which cross walk has cross hatches and which ones don’t when they have a clear green light staring them in the face and telling them to “GO GO GO – Your Little Caesars Pizza is waiting !!!”
Dude, just remove the dang cross hatches at this intersection, the kids can wait three minutes.
I know it may be a hard thing for you having probably been employed by the City Government for a few years, but common sense, in this case, really does make, common sense…
You WILL be saving at least one life here…
