Why didn't the pedestrian cross the road?
Submitted by Brent Hugh on Sun, 08/24/2003 - 5:19pm
Anne Karpf wrote an eloquent article about the pedestrian's plight in Great Britain. By her description, the situation there mirrors almost exactly the situation here in Missouri.
According to the Highway Code, if a pedestrian has started to cross, they have right of way, yet I've never met a driver that knows it. . . .By the way, Karpf's answer to the question, "Why didn't the pedestrian cross the road?" is "Because the government didn't want him to get to the other side."
It isn't just a case of miscreant drivers. "Drivers react to the environmental cues they're given: at the moment in this country, the cues are that it's OK to drive as fast as you can when you like," says Philip Connolly of Living Streets. . . .
The pavements [sidewalks] are rubbish because most of the money goes on road rather than pavement maintenance. This discriminates against older people, who make twice as many shopping trips on foot as everyone else. Going for a walk is twice as significant for them as for people under retirement age. An Age Concern study found that two-thirds of under-75s said they were too disabled to go out and walk more, even though less than one in five had a severe disability. What they were really saying is that the streets are disabling.
The new buzzword is walkability, but the government's preoccupation with congestion shows that it has adopted the agenda of the motorist. Accident-reduction and street-improvement aren't arcane wizardry - they follow automatically from traffic-calming and "Home Zones". Home Zones have lower speed limits (nine to 17 and a half mph, comparable to walking speed, though for some drivers this would defeat the purpose) and streets redesigned to give priority to children, pedestrians, and cyclists. Few complain, because the motorists here are also residents and parents. Traffic- calmed 20mph zones reduce accidents by about 60%. But what we also need is a cussed battalion of pedestrians who refuse to accept their colonised role on the streets.
Tags:
- Cycling Tips and Stories
- 2002
- 2012
- about
- accident
- advocacy101
- bicycle
- children
- drivers
- maintenance
- missouri
- missouri bicycle federation
- Missouri Tourism
- motorist
- pedestrian
- pedestrians
- politics
- sidewalks
- speed
- story
- streets
- study
- traffic
- vacation
- walkability
- walking
- Anne Karpf
- CDATA
- Highway Code
- Home zone
- Land transport
- Living street
- Living Streets
- Missouri
- Pedestrian
- Philip Connolly
- Road safety
- Road transport
- Streets
- Sustainable transport
- Tourism
- Traffic
- Traffic law
- Transport
- Transportation planning
- Travel
- Walkability
- Walking
« Previous story: American Discovery Trail backpacked for first time
» Next story: Lack of exercise leading health problem in U.S.
Join MoBikeFed's Advocacy Network
MoBikeFed is a statewide group of people like you, working together for better bicycling, walking, and trails in Missouri. When you join our advocacy network you receive occasional important advocacy alerts and bicycle, pedestrian, and trails news from around Missouri.
Working together we make a real difference! Join our advocacy network:
Working together we make a real difference! Join our advocacy network:
Related pages
Current topics...
Archives...
- Home
- JOIN/DONATE
- News/Info
- Missouri Bicycling, Running, Trails
- Bicycle Skills and Safety
- Missouri Bike/Ped Law
- Clubs and Organizations
- Bike Shops
- Running Shops
- Bicycling, Running, Trails-related Businesses
- Ride, Run, Walk, Hike, Triathlon, and Events Calendars
- Bicycles on Amtrak
- Maps and Routes
- Trails and Trail Maps
- IBikeMO.org
- Planning a Missouri bicycle trip
- Gravel and Bikepacking Maps & Routes
- Bicycle & Touring Routes
- Advocacy
- Campaigns
- Our Legislative Platform
- Complete Streets
- Statewide Rock Island Trail
- Statewide Trail Vision - Quad State Trail
- Bicycle Friendly Missouri
- Walk Friendly Missouri
- Safe Routes to School
- MoDOT funding crisis
- High Priority Bike/Ped Project List
- Anti-harassment laws in cities & statewide
- Updating the basic bicycle law
- Our Vision for MoDOT
- Our Vision for MPOs/RPCs
- Our Vision for Cities & Counties
- Bicycle, pedestrian, trails plans across MO
- Protecting Vulnerable Road Users
- Vision Zero
- Missouri Trail Towns
- Store
- About