Into your life it will creep.
It starts when you're always afraid
You step out of line, the man come and take you away.
Last year a tragedy occurred at my agency when two employees were struck and killed in front of the building by a city bus making a left turn as they crossed the street in a crosswalk with the light. This year an employee suffered a broken leg when a turning car struck him in a crosswalk in front of the building.
What to do? The Metropolitan police showed up recently outside the building one morning and started handing out $100 jaywalking tickets. A runner friend observed a cop give a ticket to a runner who ran across the empty street against the light, and issue a gotcha ticket to a pedestrian who stepped off the curb into the crosswalk (but went no further) while the light was still red.
This sucks. I run around there, a lot. I'm careful, but occasionally I run across roadways when I'm not in the crosswalk and the light isn't green.
DC has a running mayor who runs several miles every morning. I wonder if he stops and waits for every light.
About the pedestrian situation.. I'm at a loss to comment... !
ReplyDeleteBut about tomorrow... your run, weather, cherry blossoms... Ah to be in DC, now that April's (almost) here!
Let's see here... A lot of 'Officials' are not engaged in a weight reduction program... I suppose you could outrun the 'Official' but again, they do have those pesky radios.
ReplyDeleteIt is wonderful with Spring arriving!
Peter be lucky you have someone enforcing this. I work close to an intersection thats' it is even dangerous to be in the cross walk. I squing when someone cross without waiting for the light to change to walk.
ReplyDeleteWow, a $100 ticket for jaywalking seems pretty steep to me! I think it's great that the mayor is a runner and triathlete. Maybe join him on one of his runs and find out?
ReplyDeletePS - I just noticed that you ran WDWM in 2006 too! Did you do the inaugural Goofy Challenge as well?
ReplyDeleteHmph -- some investigation is in order!
ReplyDeleteI think anyone, no matter how powerful, would seem "human" to me if I knew they were a runner. Strange thought...
Sounds like the area can be dangerous. I always thought the ped had the right of way. But, in TX, I've been told not to believe such nonsense.
ReplyDeleteI think they need to strike a balance. If folks are out there playing frogger with active cars - I'm all about ticketing (as much as I hate it).
ReplyDeleteBut if the coast is clear, then they should just let people be.
I've often wondered about joining the mayer on a run...maybe someday.
This one's a little tough to call. To each his/her own.
ReplyDeleteThe tickets seems a blunt tool - can't they reorganise the crossing areas so people are less likely to jaywalk and can see more?
ReplyDeleteBuffalo Springfield is just appropriate for that. We had a similar incident where the police pinned a professor to the pavement for crossing an empty street on a red light. You'd think they have more to worry about.
ReplyDeleteTrooper. Time for a stakeout of the mayor.
ReplyDelete