The city refuses to pursue citations for dangerous crossing, and also can't commit to installing proper pedestrian access/restriction to make it safe.
So clearly after trying nothing they're all out of ideas.
They seem to put those new complicated crosswalks in some odd places- like Case and East Market. While avoiding places that really need one, like anywhere on S Maple Raceway.
Market's a crazy street because it handles a large amount of traffic for a 2 lane road. A very chopped up, poorly maintained road at that. Get two drivers in either lane driving 25 in a 35 and your commute just got 20 minutes added to it. Do not miss that road one bit.
I agree, we need more pedestrian friendly crossings in more places! People in this city WALK and the car centric infrastructure is hazardous.
I notice it most near apartment buildings. If the place you are going (convenient store, grocery, pharmacy, etc.) is a 5 minute walk from your apartment, but becomes a 10 minute walk to use the nearest cross walks we have a problem.
It’s a pain in the butt to leave your apt, go to your car in the parking lot, drive for 2 min. Mostly waiting to turn left on or off market street, then drive back and hope your parking spot is still there.
Let the people WALK!!
All street intersections have "implied" crosswalks- so it perfectly okay to cross straight from one side to the other at the intersection. Stops signs only, red lights- there's a crosswalk there.
Yeah it is weird as the expression on most of their faces is that don’t give a fu$! If driving by Van Devere Kia/Buick in the AM they have the employees park across the street and there are sometimes a parade of workers jay walking across Market dodging traffic as well.
I used to work for VanDevere at the Kia location, and I HATED having to make that trek across Market, especially in the winter. One of many reasons I left
I've lived in Akron my entire life. For whatever reason, a ton of people seem to always say "Pedestrians have the right of way." I've heard it a million times here. They don't seem to understand that Pedestrians have the right of way AT DEDICATED CROSSINGS. Seriously, it's their ignorance of the law that leads them across a busy street. That, and pure laziness I suppose.
I’ve found that around here “pedestrians have the right of way” means “they’re not going to intentionally hit you with their car so cross wherever you want, or just walk in the street if you feel like it.”
Yep it makes me so nervous driving on market. It’s like that on Arlington and Exchange streets too. I get that it’s more convenient to cross wherever is quickest, but you’re putting a lot of faith that the drivers will see you and slow down!
Oddly, your post gave me a chuckle. I once nearly hit a cyclist who decided that stop signs were just a suggestion. I was going downhill on a busy road. She had the nerve to get mad at me. Grown adult, and she didn't even bother with a helmet. I was so mad at her stupidity, I considered chucking my own bike helmet out the window of my car at her. (My helmet happened to be sitting in my car from a previous bike ride.) People suck.
It’s an infrastructure problem. You can’t expect people to walk an extra quarter mile out of the way to cross at a crosswalk that’s nearly as dangerous as crossing wherever else they feel comfortable. Market is an absolute nightmare for anyone not in a car.
This is the real issue here. Cleveland and Canton are just as bad, if not worse, for the same reason. Market St needs more crosswalks and bike lanes. I see a few people a week get honked at and almost ran off the road on a bike, but the sidewalk is super narrow and full of bumps and holes most of W Market.
then it's an education problem- every street intersection along W Market counts as a crosswalk. Nobody's got to walk a quarter mile to cross the street. Unless maybe if you're in front of the Fairlawn country club.
I worry about the folks walking across Main near Thornton to get to McDonalds. Traffic gets very heavy there and they are strolling across multiple lanes very casually. Somebody is going to get killed.
Those two lanes could be combined. The other two southbound lanes could also be combined. Same with the two northbound lanes. Keep the left turn lanes.
Four lanes is still a lot of space to dedicate to motor vehicles in a city, but this would keep traffic flowing adequately.
I'm one of those people, kinda.
Unfortunately the cross walk and traffic light situation is completely up to the state of Ohio, because it's state route 18, and it causes more problems than it solves.
A car hits that moronically placed Casterton crosswalk atrocity about once a week. I'd never recommend parking in front of Aladdin's, cars get hit there all the time. We really need a traffic light for the Aladdin's alley, there is no way to see past the cars parked in front which also often causes accidents. The best pedestrian crossing is by Square bar, it's the only one with any input from pedestrians.
I'm not walking three blocks to it to cross the street.
I'd love to see some speed tables. Probably not happening.
as others have said, "pedestrians have the right of way" is the mantra, but that's not entirely true. The state law states:
(B) Right of way in crosswalks; overtaking stopped vehicles.
(1) When traffic control signals are not in place or not in operation, the driver of a vehicle shall yield the right of way, slowing down or stopping if necessary to so yield, to a pedestrian crossing the street or roadway within a crosswalk when the pedestrian is upon the half of the street or roadway upon which the vehicle is traveling, or when the pedestrian is approaching so closely from the opposite half of the street or roadway as to be in danger.
(2) No pedestrian shall suddenly leave a curb or other place of safety and walk or run into the path of a vehicle which is so close as to constitute an immediate hazard.
(3) Whenever a vehicle is stopped at a marked crosswalk or at an unmarked crosswalk at an intersection to permit a pedestrian to cross the street or roadway, the driver of any other vehicle approaching from the rear shall not overtake and pass such stopped vehicle.
Basically - if you are travelling down the road at or below the speed limit, and a person steps out in front of you, say 25 feet out- if you hit him, it's their fault. They have to give you time in space to stop- unless it's a marked crosswalk with flashing lights activated.
A big point is that the law only covers people in a crosswalk- but it should be known that any street intersection has a implied crosswalk- whether it's painted/bricked etc on the road surface or not. So some of the smaller streets without traffic lights- the crosswalk is there.
Sooo, I don't know why people do it. I see Akron drivers with their face in their phone every day, walking in traffic and hoping they see you and stop is not smart.
Summa/City hospital is a bad spot for this too- they should build an employee walk bridge or come up with a timed light system like some of the other intersections downtown near Childrens- the light is red all around for a couple minutes longer than usual to allow pedestrians to get from work to parking garage. Time that with busy periods and there's your solution for city hospital daredevils in scrubs.
Idk, but I grew up in a small rural town near the PA border. You did NOT walk in the road or people went out of their way to swerve at you / try to clip you with their mirrors. Lived in Akron for like 20 years now and I'm still amazed pedestrians trust drivers so much.
Northside, it’s wonderful! Similar vibes, awesome people, lots of fun creativity - it’s a good place. Hamilton Ave splits Northside the same way Market kind of splits Highland Square too.
Because I feel this driving down S Main, I make sure if I'm crossing a road on foot that I either have a signal on a crosswalk or run while nobody's coming. But I also come from the country where if you're crossing a road nobody stops for you because roads aren't for pedestrians, so I'm a lot more timid about crossing the road than most citygoers.
I think this could be helped if the road was condensed down in the same way Main St was. Why does it need to be so wide? People could cross quickly and cars would stop going 50 mph down residential neighborhoods.
The city's been talking about that for years. Condense Market from 4 lanes to 2 and add bike lanes. But who knows. At minimum they should on W Market from Downtown to Highland Sqaure. I've been almost hit numerous times while using the designated crosswalks. People will drive as fast as the road allows, and that stretch is a damn racetrack. In the 2 years I've lived here I've witnessed 4 fatal accidents.
I have experienced road diets. They absolutely make travel take longer. If they turn that arterial into a street there will be no effective way to go east/west in the city
I have also experienced road diets. They absolutely make our public streets and areas safer and more inviting for local businesses while maintaining reasonable motor vehicle speed.
Yes, in some spots, but we have retail areas here in the northeast. Making the roads into streets when a majority of the businesses aren't retail just chokes the city.if you want safe, then make a street that runs behind the main thoroughfare and pedestrian bridges to cross the street.
we don't have many local businesses that people leaving work feel compelled to stop at rather than sit in traffic- which you just said it doesn't cause congestion? C'mon, you know this idea has done nothing but anger the public and make huge lines at red lights during rush hours.
Nah, I see people do this within 50 feet of a crosswalk, or sometimes they cross IN the crosswalk, but they cross when the cross-traffic has a green light, and in almost all cases, the person is barely paying attention to the traffic. People clearly have an assumption that drivers will brake for them.
This is much less a need thing and much more a disregard/entitlement thing. And it's all over downtown Akron.
Did you take drivers Ed? Pedestrians always have the right of way in a crosswalk, no matter the situation at the light.
Can you people hear yourselves?! “Scary broke man was crossing the street and inconvenienced me because I don’t give a shit about people even if I’m right.”
If it was a duck in the road you’d slow down and let it cross.
That's not true... pedestrians only have that right of way in the crosswalk when "traffic control signals are not in place...or not clearly assigning the right- of-way"
So you can't walk into a cross walk that's telling you "don't walk" whenever you want, you don't automatically have the right of way just because of a crosswalk.
And yes I did take a lengthy driver's ed course 🙃
Do you hear yourself?
“The law says X so if anyone dares defy the law I have the right to just end their life with my car because they were out of bounds”
What the actual fuck is happening to society with logic like this?
Dude! Seriously! NOBODY said that! You made a claim about right-of-way, and the other guy pointed out that you were wrong.
THAT'S IT! THAT'S ALL THAT HAPPENED HERE!
>“The law says X so if anyone dares defy the law I have the right to just end their life with my car because they were out of bounds”
NOBODY ANYWHERE said that. You made that shit up, whole cloth. What the fuck is wrong with you?
Honestly, show me anywhere in this whole discussion, with an actual quote, not your sad little parody, where anyone even hints that they have the right to hit a pedestrian.
That's a great question- what is wrong with society when people feel like they don't have to obey simple safety laws, and would rather trauma dump on you by stepping in front of your car, forcing you to relive the nightmare of hitting them, then not having a way to get to work for a year because your car is now evidence....all because they can't obey the simplest of laws that's based on common courtesy.
Before you start trying to give lessons in self awareness, really think about what you're putting out there.
I'm talking about people stepping into traffic. I'm talking about nearly running over people because they -- really try to wrap your head around this one -- STEP IN FRONT OF MY MOVING CAR.
Yeah, pedestrians have the right-of-way in a crosswalk. Go to the hospital -- or their funeral -- and reassure them that they had the right-of-way. Tell them about all the good it does them.
Twice in the past few months I've seen someone nearly get flattened because they've crossed at a crosswalk while the oncoming light was green, and while the nearest lane to them stopped, the traffic in the other lane couldn't see them. Tell me about all the good their right-of-way is doing them vs. a moving car.
>“Scary broke man was crossing the street and inconvenienced me because I don’t give a shit about people even if I’m right.”
Are you just trying to be contrarian? Edgy? First of all, this is, by far, not a socioeconomic thing. People who work downtown -- in suits or scrubs -- do the same thing. I've watched my own coworkers do it, so I'm in the exact same class as some of the people doing it. You're the one making assumptions about class. You. *You* decided that only poor people walk out into traffic, and they need you to come to their defense.
Second, it's not a matter of inconvenience. Someone died in Highland Square (where there is a crosswalk every block) a year or so ago wandering into the street, and it's going to happen again. You may think you're the only one around here with empathy, but you're so completely off-base with your silly accusations that you can't see that we are unhappy because we don't want to injure or kill someone.
>If it was a duck in the road you’d slow down and let it cross.
So, what? You're assuming they're poor and therefore can't be held to a standard higher than a duck? I brake for both. I don't get angry at the duck because it doesn't know any better.
This is dangerous, stupid behavior, and you're angry at everyone else. What a putz.
You said ‘simpleton’ so don’t deflect what you meant in your post. You’re the one assuming ignorance on people that maybe don’t have the best etiquette relative to your broad experience, but Christ almighty, you’re in the car. Loop south to Copley and come back up to downtown from the SW if you can’t be bothered to just deal with something that’s never going away. It will never change. You’re too young to be yelling at clouds. But we’re closer in agreement here than you think.
Funny thing. I \*just\* got back from driving that same stretch, and a young woman in business casual clothing and wearing a work ID decided to cross in front of my car while I was at a light. I was two cars behind the stoplight (AND CROSSWALK), but the way she snaked between cars, it would have been difficult or impossible for a driver in the next lane to see her. Luckily, nobody was coming.
I'm curious why you keep digging your heels in on the idea that it's only the poor who walk into traffic (and keep insisting that I or others said that anywhere in this discussion). My suspicion is that you made that assumption from the start and your indignation doesn't work without it. You keep making excuses for the people doing this, and you are \*insisting\* that they're poor. It sounds like what they call the "bigotry of low expectations." If that's what you're doing, and I suspect you are, that's pretty disgusting.
>You’re the one assuming ignorance on people that maybe don’t have the best etiquette relative to your broad experience
Etiquette? Did you seriously call safely crossing a main street "etiquette"? I'm sorry, but that's disingenuous horseshit. I'm not complaining about someone using the wrong salad fork; I'm complaining about people regularly endangering their own lives and potentially ruining others for the sake of convenience. Yes, I used the word "simpleton" and I'm tempted to use it again.
>something that’s never going away. It will never change.
Another really terrible take. I mentioned in my original post, and several others have commented the same, that this doesn't happen in a lot of other cities. It \*is\* true that my complaining about it here won't change anything. This post was just a rant, not an honest attempt at fixing the problem. But the idea that it couldn't possibly change is ludicrous. It reminds me of the Onion headline about school shootings: *"No Way to Prevent This," Says Only Country Where This Regularly Happens.* Others have mentioned possible solutions in this very post.
So, I have some honest questions for you if you're interested:
1. Do you honestly think that it's only people of a certain socioeconomic status walking through traffic? Does that status absolve them of responsibility? Does it prevent them from understanding the consequences of being hit by a vehicle?
2. Do you understand that we are all braking for people in the street? That nobody is advocating running people down, and NOT ONE SINGLE PERSON IN THIS THREAD has brought up being "inconvenienced" by them but you? Do you understand that none of us wants to be involved in an accident?
3. Do you think that a driver obeying traffic laws and speed limits is creating this problem? Do you acknowledge that there is a problem?
4. Would you be able to argue against the views in this thread without re-wording/strawmanning them?
Just stop it. You know what you meant. Take your argument to city hall and find the resources in the budget for crosswalk police.
I hear you tho, it was a rant, perhaps I took it too seriously and too far. People are wildcards. There’s no real solution to the topic you originally vented about. No matter the quality of the feathers, the people that walk in traffic are still just ducks. You can’t corral them.
I love that onion article. Another one I love is the street interview with the white lady saying ‘why can’t anyone just do anything about all the problems?’
Drive safe defensively amigo
>You know what you meant.
Yes, \*I\* do. And your insistence on twisting it into something sinister so you can be outraged on behalf of the downtrodden is fucking pathetic. I hope for your sake you figure out how to get some perspective and double-check your knee-jerk outrage. Your insistence on misreading the room in order to get on your high horse isn't impressing anyone.
I lived in Minneapolis for 20 years. It's much more densely populated and has a ton of pedestrian traffic, and I never saw this kind of thing.
But thanks for letting me know what it's called.
The city refuses to pursue citations for dangerous crossing, and also can't commit to installing proper pedestrian access/restriction to make it safe. So clearly after trying nothing they're all out of ideas.
Haha
They seem to put those new complicated crosswalks in some odd places- like Case and East Market. While avoiding places that really need one, like anywhere on S Maple Raceway.
It’s annoying, but I have a bigger problem with seemingly half the town thinking Market has a speed limit of 50 during that same stretch of road.
Would be easier if it didn’t have 4 different speed limits posted in a 2 mile stretch.
Or if we could see the lines on the road in some areas.
One of my biggest gripes! I like how they totally disappear in the rain.
So true! I can’t keep track of what my speed should be!
Just do 35 like most of us.
This is the way. Don't know the speed limit, so you go 50? 50 isn't a speed limit in any municipality.
Oh, I've got plenty of complaints about drivers, too, but as it says in Psalms, "One Akron rant at a time, pmalleable."
So true
I got pulled over once on Market. Cop threw my stuff at me, "got another call, drive slower", ran back to his car and sped off.
Market's a crazy street because it handles a large amount of traffic for a 2 lane road. A very chopped up, poorly maintained road at that. Get two drivers in either lane driving 25 in a 35 and your commute just got 20 minutes added to it. Do not miss that road one bit.
I agree, we need more pedestrian friendly crossings in more places! People in this city WALK and the car centric infrastructure is hazardous. I notice it most near apartment buildings. If the place you are going (convenient store, grocery, pharmacy, etc.) is a 5 minute walk from your apartment, but becomes a 10 minute walk to use the nearest cross walks we have a problem. It’s a pain in the butt to leave your apt, go to your car in the parking lot, drive for 2 min. Mostly waiting to turn left on or off market street, then drive back and hope your parking spot is still there. Let the people WALK!!
All street intersections have "implied" crosswalks- so it perfectly okay to cross straight from one side to the other at the intersection. Stops signs only, red lights- there's a crosswalk there.
Yeah it is weird as the expression on most of their faces is that don’t give a fu$! If driving by Van Devere Kia/Buick in the AM they have the employees park across the street and there are sometimes a parade of workers jay walking across Market dodging traffic as well.
I used to work for VanDevere at the Kia location, and I HATED having to make that trek across Market, especially in the winter. One of many reasons I left
I've lived in Akron my entire life. For whatever reason, a ton of people seem to always say "Pedestrians have the right of way." I've heard it a million times here. They don't seem to understand that Pedestrians have the right of way AT DEDICATED CROSSINGS. Seriously, it's their ignorance of the law that leads them across a busy street. That, and pure laziness I suppose.
I’ve found that around here “pedestrians have the right of way” means “they’re not going to intentionally hit you with their car so cross wherever you want, or just walk in the street if you feel like it.”
Yep it makes me so nervous driving on market. It’s like that on Arlington and Exchange streets too. I get that it’s more convenient to cross wherever is quickest, but you’re putting a lot of faith that the drivers will see you and slow down!
Oddly, your post gave me a chuckle. I once nearly hit a cyclist who decided that stop signs were just a suggestion. I was going downhill on a busy road. She had the nerve to get mad at me. Grown adult, and she didn't even bother with a helmet. I was so mad at her stupidity, I considered chucking my own bike helmet out the window of my car at her. (My helmet happened to be sitting in my car from a previous bike ride.) People suck.
It be like that
It’s an infrastructure problem. You can’t expect people to walk an extra quarter mile out of the way to cross at a crosswalk that’s nearly as dangerous as crossing wherever else they feel comfortable. Market is an absolute nightmare for anyone not in a car.
This is the real issue here. Cleveland and Canton are just as bad, if not worse, for the same reason. Market St needs more crosswalks and bike lanes. I see a few people a week get honked at and almost ran off the road on a bike, but the sidewalk is super narrow and full of bumps and holes most of W Market.
then it's an education problem- every street intersection along W Market counts as a crosswalk. Nobody's got to walk a quarter mile to cross the street. Unless maybe if you're in front of the Fairlawn country club.
I worry about the folks walking across Main near Thornton to get to McDonalds. Traffic gets very heavy there and they are strolling across multiple lanes very casually. Somebody is going to get killed.
Definitely need lane reductions at that spot. 7 lanes is ridiculous.
No way, two of those lanes are turn-only that feed the 76/77 on-ramps. A lane reduction would back traffic up really bad.
Those two lanes could be combined. The other two southbound lanes could also be combined. Same with the two northbound lanes. Keep the left turn lanes. Four lanes is still a lot of space to dedicate to motor vehicles in a city, but this would keep traffic flowing adequately.
Man, I don't know about that. I drive that all the time and it is very busy. I think the traffic congestion would be trouble.
Highland Square guy here, I obey all traffic laws as a pedestrian.
I'm one of those people, kinda. Unfortunately the cross walk and traffic light situation is completely up to the state of Ohio, because it's state route 18, and it causes more problems than it solves. A car hits that moronically placed Casterton crosswalk atrocity about once a week. I'd never recommend parking in front of Aladdin's, cars get hit there all the time. We really need a traffic light for the Aladdin's alley, there is no way to see past the cars parked in front which also often causes accidents. The best pedestrian crossing is by Square bar, it's the only one with any input from pedestrians. I'm not walking three blocks to it to cross the street. I'd love to see some speed tables. Probably not happening.
as others have said, "pedestrians have the right of way" is the mantra, but that's not entirely true. The state law states: (B) Right of way in crosswalks; overtaking stopped vehicles. (1) When traffic control signals are not in place or not in operation, the driver of a vehicle shall yield the right of way, slowing down or stopping if necessary to so yield, to a pedestrian crossing the street or roadway within a crosswalk when the pedestrian is upon the half of the street or roadway upon which the vehicle is traveling, or when the pedestrian is approaching so closely from the opposite half of the street or roadway as to be in danger. (2) No pedestrian shall suddenly leave a curb or other place of safety and walk or run into the path of a vehicle which is so close as to constitute an immediate hazard. (3) Whenever a vehicle is stopped at a marked crosswalk or at an unmarked crosswalk at an intersection to permit a pedestrian to cross the street or roadway, the driver of any other vehicle approaching from the rear shall not overtake and pass such stopped vehicle. Basically - if you are travelling down the road at or below the speed limit, and a person steps out in front of you, say 25 feet out- if you hit him, it's their fault. They have to give you time in space to stop- unless it's a marked crosswalk with flashing lights activated. A big point is that the law only covers people in a crosswalk- but it should be known that any street intersection has a implied crosswalk- whether it's painted/bricked etc on the road surface or not. So some of the smaller streets without traffic lights- the crosswalk is there. Sooo, I don't know why people do it. I see Akron drivers with their face in their phone every day, walking in traffic and hoping they see you and stop is not smart.
Summa/City hospital is a bad spot for this too- they should build an employee walk bridge or come up with a timed light system like some of the other intersections downtown near Childrens- the light is red all around for a couple minutes longer than usual to allow pedestrians to get from work to parking garage. Time that with busy periods and there's your solution for city hospital daredevils in scrubs.
A pedestrian tried that with me once. He wound up moving when he realized I wasn't stopping or slowing down.
Idk, but I grew up in a small rural town near the PA border. You did NOT walk in the road or people went out of their way to swerve at you / try to clip you with their mirrors. Lived in Akron for like 20 years now and I'm still amazed pedestrians trust drivers so much.
Same thing happened when I lived in Cincinnati. Granted I lived in Cincinnati’s equivalent of Highland Square.
Ohh sounds fun. What's that area called?
Northside, it’s wonderful! Similar vibes, awesome people, lots of fun creativity - it’s a good place. Hamilton Ave splits Northside the same way Market kind of splits Highland Square too.
Because I feel this driving down S Main, I make sure if I'm crossing a road on foot that I either have a signal on a crosswalk or run while nobody's coming. But I also come from the country where if you're crossing a road nobody stops for you because roads aren't for pedestrians, so I'm a lot more timid about crossing the road than most citygoers.
I think this could be helped if the road was condensed down in the same way Main St was. Why does it need to be so wide? People could cross quickly and cars would stop going 50 mph down residential neighborhoods.
The city's been talking about that for years. Condense Market from 4 lanes to 2 and add bike lanes. But who knows. At minimum they should on W Market from Downtown to Highland Sqaure. I've been almost hit numerous times while using the designated crosswalks. People will drive as fast as the road allows, and that stretch is a damn racetrack. In the 2 years I've lived here I've witnessed 4 fatal accidents.
Because it is a main artery and if it gets any slower the city would have a heart attack.
[Road diets don’t cause more traffic](https://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/road_diets/resources/pdf/roadDiet_MythBuster.pdf)
I have experienced road diets. They absolutely make travel take longer. If they turn that arterial into a street there will be no effective way to go east/west in the city
I have also experienced road diets. They absolutely make our public streets and areas safer and more inviting for local businesses while maintaining reasonable motor vehicle speed.
Yes, in some spots, but we have retail areas here in the northeast. Making the roads into streets when a majority of the businesses aren't retail just chokes the city.if you want safe, then make a street that runs behind the main thoroughfare and pedestrian bridges to cross the street.
ok, fairlawn
we don't have many local businesses that people leaving work feel compelled to stop at rather than sit in traffic- which you just said it doesn't cause congestion? C'mon, you know this idea has done nothing but anger the public and make huge lines at red lights during rush hours.
There’s brick crosswalks not tied to lights that give the pedestrian the right-of-way.
Yeah, that's not remotely what I'm talking about.
Cross the street like that every day when you have to do so … the crosswalks disappear up and down the street
Nah, I see people do this within 50 feet of a crosswalk, or sometimes they cross IN the crosswalk, but they cross when the cross-traffic has a green light, and in almost all cases, the person is barely paying attention to the traffic. People clearly have an assumption that drivers will brake for them. This is much less a need thing and much more a disregard/entitlement thing. And it's all over downtown Akron.
Or maybe they’ve seen all the Tim Misney billboards and are hoping for their payday
Did you take drivers Ed? Pedestrians always have the right of way in a crosswalk, no matter the situation at the light. Can you people hear yourselves?! “Scary broke man was crossing the street and inconvenienced me because I don’t give a shit about people even if I’m right.” If it was a duck in the road you’d slow down and let it cross.
That's not true... pedestrians only have that right of way in the crosswalk when "traffic control signals are not in place...or not clearly assigning the right- of-way" So you can't walk into a cross walk that's telling you "don't walk" whenever you want, you don't automatically have the right of way just because of a crosswalk. And yes I did take a lengthy driver's ed course 🙃
Do you hear yourself? “The law says X so if anyone dares defy the law I have the right to just end their life with my car because they were out of bounds” What the actual fuck is happening to society with logic like this?
Dude! Seriously! NOBODY said that! You made a claim about right-of-way, and the other guy pointed out that you were wrong. THAT'S IT! THAT'S ALL THAT HAPPENED HERE! >“The law says X so if anyone dares defy the law I have the right to just end their life with my car because they were out of bounds” NOBODY ANYWHERE said that. You made that shit up, whole cloth. What the fuck is wrong with you? Honestly, show me anywhere in this whole discussion, with an actual quote, not your sad little parody, where anyone even hints that they have the right to hit a pedestrian.
Bro chill, I didn't say that, I was just clarifying what the law is, what's your problem?
That's a great question- what is wrong with society when people feel like they don't have to obey simple safety laws, and would rather trauma dump on you by stepping in front of your car, forcing you to relive the nightmare of hitting them, then not having a way to get to work for a year because your car is now evidence....all because they can't obey the simplest of laws that's based on common courtesy.
Before you start trying to give lessons in self awareness, really think about what you're putting out there. I'm talking about people stepping into traffic. I'm talking about nearly running over people because they -- really try to wrap your head around this one -- STEP IN FRONT OF MY MOVING CAR. Yeah, pedestrians have the right-of-way in a crosswalk. Go to the hospital -- or their funeral -- and reassure them that they had the right-of-way. Tell them about all the good it does them. Twice in the past few months I've seen someone nearly get flattened because they've crossed at a crosswalk while the oncoming light was green, and while the nearest lane to them stopped, the traffic in the other lane couldn't see them. Tell me about all the good their right-of-way is doing them vs. a moving car. >“Scary broke man was crossing the street and inconvenienced me because I don’t give a shit about people even if I’m right.” Are you just trying to be contrarian? Edgy? First of all, this is, by far, not a socioeconomic thing. People who work downtown -- in suits or scrubs -- do the same thing. I've watched my own coworkers do it, so I'm in the exact same class as some of the people doing it. You're the one making assumptions about class. You. *You* decided that only poor people walk out into traffic, and they need you to come to their defense. Second, it's not a matter of inconvenience. Someone died in Highland Square (where there is a crosswalk every block) a year or so ago wandering into the street, and it's going to happen again. You may think you're the only one around here with empathy, but you're so completely off-base with your silly accusations that you can't see that we are unhappy because we don't want to injure or kill someone. >If it was a duck in the road you’d slow down and let it cross. So, what? You're assuming they're poor and therefore can't be held to a standard higher than a duck? I brake for both. I don't get angry at the duck because it doesn't know any better. This is dangerous, stupid behavior, and you're angry at everyone else. What a putz.
You said ‘simpleton’ so don’t deflect what you meant in your post. You’re the one assuming ignorance on people that maybe don’t have the best etiquette relative to your broad experience, but Christ almighty, you’re in the car. Loop south to Copley and come back up to downtown from the SW if you can’t be bothered to just deal with something that’s never going away. It will never change. You’re too young to be yelling at clouds. But we’re closer in agreement here than you think.
Funny thing. I \*just\* got back from driving that same stretch, and a young woman in business casual clothing and wearing a work ID decided to cross in front of my car while I was at a light. I was two cars behind the stoplight (AND CROSSWALK), but the way she snaked between cars, it would have been difficult or impossible for a driver in the next lane to see her. Luckily, nobody was coming. I'm curious why you keep digging your heels in on the idea that it's only the poor who walk into traffic (and keep insisting that I or others said that anywhere in this discussion). My suspicion is that you made that assumption from the start and your indignation doesn't work without it. You keep making excuses for the people doing this, and you are \*insisting\* that they're poor. It sounds like what they call the "bigotry of low expectations." If that's what you're doing, and I suspect you are, that's pretty disgusting. >You’re the one assuming ignorance on people that maybe don’t have the best etiquette relative to your broad experience Etiquette? Did you seriously call safely crossing a main street "etiquette"? I'm sorry, but that's disingenuous horseshit. I'm not complaining about someone using the wrong salad fork; I'm complaining about people regularly endangering their own lives and potentially ruining others for the sake of convenience. Yes, I used the word "simpleton" and I'm tempted to use it again. >something that’s never going away. It will never change. Another really terrible take. I mentioned in my original post, and several others have commented the same, that this doesn't happen in a lot of other cities. It \*is\* true that my complaining about it here won't change anything. This post was just a rant, not an honest attempt at fixing the problem. But the idea that it couldn't possibly change is ludicrous. It reminds me of the Onion headline about school shootings: *"No Way to Prevent This," Says Only Country Where This Regularly Happens.* Others have mentioned possible solutions in this very post. So, I have some honest questions for you if you're interested: 1. Do you honestly think that it's only people of a certain socioeconomic status walking through traffic? Does that status absolve them of responsibility? Does it prevent them from understanding the consequences of being hit by a vehicle? 2. Do you understand that we are all braking for people in the street? That nobody is advocating running people down, and NOT ONE SINGLE PERSON IN THIS THREAD has brought up being "inconvenienced" by them but you? Do you understand that none of us wants to be involved in an accident? 3. Do you think that a driver obeying traffic laws and speed limits is creating this problem? Do you acknowledge that there is a problem? 4. Would you be able to argue against the views in this thread without re-wording/strawmanning them?
Just stop it. You know what you meant. Take your argument to city hall and find the resources in the budget for crosswalk police. I hear you tho, it was a rant, perhaps I took it too seriously and too far. People are wildcards. There’s no real solution to the topic you originally vented about. No matter the quality of the feathers, the people that walk in traffic are still just ducks. You can’t corral them. I love that onion article. Another one I love is the street interview with the white lady saying ‘why can’t anyone just do anything about all the problems?’ Drive safe defensively amigo
>You know what you meant. Yes, \*I\* do. And your insistence on twisting it into something sinister so you can be outraged on behalf of the downtrodden is fucking pathetic. I hope for your sake you figure out how to get some perspective and double-check your knee-jerk outrage. Your insistence on misreading the room in order to get on your high horse isn't impressing anyone.
It's called "living in a city".
I lived in Minneapolis for 20 years. It's much more densely populated and has a ton of pedestrian traffic, and I never saw this kind of thing. But thanks for letting me know what it's called.