By Leslie Moriarty
Herald Writer
At times it can be like taking your life in your hands.
No, it’s not fighting a big bully, or battling bureaucrats. It’s crossing the street.
Whether in daylight or the dark of night, crossing traffic on a busy street can be life-threatening. And depending on the location, you may not have help.
Cities throughout Snohomish County deal with pedestrian traffic in different ways. But according to traffic engineers and law enforcement officials, the goal is always the same — keeping pedestrians safe.
Chuck Macklin, commander with the Snohomish Police Department, said the main locations that cause problems there are on Second Street.
"It’s a 30-mile-per-hour zone, is a truck route and has five lanes," Macklin said. "And with all the stores that are along there, there are enough distractions to take drivers’ attentions away from checking on the crosswalks."
What Snohomish has attempted to do is better educate drivers about crosswalks. By state law, a pedestrian has the right-of-way at any marked crosswalk, whether at an intersection or in the middle of the block.
The middle-of-the-block locations are where problems occur. At many of intersections, pedestrians can push buttons to activate walk signals that tell drivers a pedestrian is crossing the street.
Macklin said there are some new ways to keep such crosswalks safer.
One is being tried in Kirkland and consists of plastic containers at each side of the crosswalk. Inside the containers are bright orange flags that pedestrians can carry across the crosswalk, to make them more obvious to drivers. Then, at the other side, they deposit the flag in the container for the next pedestrian to use.
"The flags are very visible," Macklin said. "They do get drivers’ attentions."
Other ways to create safer crosswalks include "traffic calming" methods. Macklin said those include installing physical barriers to narrow the street at unmarked corners or in the middle of blocks. When those are used, cars cannot park close to the crosswalks and hence, waiting pedestrians can be seen by drivers.
"Some of these are very attractive," he said. "They are brick and can be planted with small trees and colorful plants, or benches can be placed on them."
These things can be done less expensively than adding flashing lights or stop lights. But Macklin said enforcement is one of the best ways to make crosswalks safe.
He said Snohomish police will stop drivers who don’t stop for pedestrians. The crosswalks are marked with stripes on the street and signs at both sides of the crosswalk, warning drivers to stop.
"We do stings where officers in street clothes act like they are pedestrians," he said. "But in most cases that’s to help educate people about stopping at the crosswalks."
He said tickets usually aren’t given in the stings unless someone is a repeat offender. By state law, tickets can cost up to $82 per incident.
One of the tough things about crosswalks, he said, is that pedestrians have to make an attempt to be seen so drivers know they want to cross.
"They are suppose to step into the crosswalk," Macklin said. "But officers and judges will interpret that differently.
"What’s important is that the pedestrian be safe, but also make it known they want to cross."
There are other ways to mark crosswalks, too.
In Lynnwood, several crosswalks are marked with lights in the surface of the street that can be activated by pedestrians. The lights are bright and blink, making it obvious that drivers need to stop.
Trudy Dana, spokeswoman for the Lynnwood Police Department, said the city has installed those at places where elderly housing is close to shopping.
"It makes it much safer for the older residents to cross," she said.
Various types of lights in the street are available, said Edie Smith, president of Advanced Traffic Products of Everett, which sells traffic safety products.
To mark a typical crosswalk with the blinking on the streetlights can range from $3,000 to $5,000.
Because of the expense, not all crosswalks can be lighted, Dana said.
"What we really focus on is enforcement," she said.
In some areas, cities choose to install overhead crosswalks or tunnels. But those, too, are costly, Macklin said.
"We haven’t had a pedestrian hit in a number of years," he said. "But it’s a well-known fact that pedestrians and cars don’t mix.
"It all comes down to awareness on the part of drivers and pedestrians."
That’s a key factor, according to Everett traffic engineer Wayne Wentz.
"Pedestrians can be part of the problem," he said.
They and drivers owe it to themselves to be careful and pay attention.
Wentz said the city of Everett marks pedestrian crossings in a number of ways. The city hasn’t used the in-pavement flashers yet, but plans to in the area of 52nd Street and Westview Drive.
He said as concerns are raised, the city studies the locations.
In the case of 18th Street and Broadway, near Safeway where there is a crossing that often is ignored, those concerns resulted in a decision to place a traffic signal there.
You can call Herald Writer Leslie Moriarty at 425-339-3436
or send e-mail to moriarty@heraldnet.com.
If you know of a dangerous crosswalk that needs improvement, report it to the traffic engineer in your city, or to the county if you live in an unincorporated area. Also alert the police department so that they can add it to those that they patrol.
If you think better lights or signs are needed, take that information to your city council and ask for a report back on accidents at that location.
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