Comment 83777

By seancb (registered) - website | Posted December 12, 2012 at 08:04:48 in reply to Comment 83761

According to the HTA, drivers have to stop for a pedestrian in a crosswalk, and as defined by the HTA a crosswalk exists at every intersection of a road (or sidewalk) with a street. That means that even where there's no light and no painted crosswalk, pedestrians can cross wherever there is a sidewalk (or side street) that intersects the road they're crossing.

So the 6 incidents you observe are actually representative of how completely skewed the priorities are in Hamilton, where we consider it acceptable for drivers to deke around pedestrians instead of stopping for them.

There are only a handful of spots in the city where pedestrian crossings are outright prohibited, and they are listed in the bylaws. Everywhere else, pedestrians have the right to cross the road at whichever intersection is most convenient. They do not have to walk to the nearest light.

Unfortunately, many drivers are in too big a hurry to recommend (and follow) this part of the HTA, so they scream "well for your own good you should go to the nearest light".

They aren't willing to slow down for anyone else's good.

All of this being said, the point is that we should design the network to minimize collisions and to make whatever collisions DO happen be less lethal. And all the laws in the world won't accomplish this - it has to be through physical design.

Comment edited by seancb on 2012-12-12 08:06:29

I vote down for offensiveness and up for humour. I cast no votes based on my level of agreement.

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