City Sanctioned Jaywalking Needs To End.
The aforementined accident on University at Bradley Avenue got me to thinking about how unsafe that area really is. Yes, it’s no secret that Bradley kids jaywalk all over Main Street and also University, but the young woman who was hit by a car was actually walking on a striped crosswalk. One would think crossing a street at a crosswalk would be reasonably safe, but not in this instance. You see, the crosswalk in question is not located at a light, nor at a stop sign. In fact, there isn’t really much indication to a driver that a crosswalk even exists.
According to Illinois State Law, “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 need be to so yield, to a pedestrian crossing the roadway within a crosswalk.”
Oh, really?
In my mind, this crosswalk is more dangerous than actually jaywalking in the middle of the block because it gives the pedestrian a false sense of security. Heck, if a car actually did stop in the middle of University they’d probably get rear ended.
I’ve thought long and hard and cannot think of another place where a crosswalk exists on a busy street not located at a stopping point for cars. This makes absolutely no sense. At minimum there should be flashing lights to warn motorists of this oddity, but the real solution would be a pedestrian light, similar to the one on Main St.
The Main Street pedestrian cross walk doesn’t fulfill its intended purpose because of the length of Main Street and the numerous points one might want to cross at. It would work here. The athletic fields which butt up against University are fenced in, therefore to get from St. James apartments to the Bradley campus, one is forced to choose which side of the athletic fields to exit from. The two choices are Bradley Avenue or the edge of Campustown, which has a light. Bradley Avenue needs one too.
Yea, I know we’re traffic lighted to death around here, but if properly timed with the Moss light it would cause only a minor inconvenience. Or we can wait for another kid to get hit. Nothing like death to inspire a change in policy.
April 5th, 2008 at 2:19 pm
There were several places in our old hometown of Oshkosh, WI where pedestrian crosswalks had flashing yellow lights that alerted motorists of the pedestrian’s right-of-way. Even just a couple big yellow “Yoo-hooo, people crossing” signs seems like it would be a vast improvement.
April 5th, 2008 at 4:03 pm
I presume you will be participating in the Campaign for a Walkable West Bluff?
Notice:
WALKABLE AUDIT OF MAIN STREET / Great American Clean Up – Help Us Kick-Off the Campaign for a Walkable West Bluff
April 19, 2008
9 am – 11 am
Meeting Place TBA
Contact Lisa Ferolo at lferolo@mma90.com to participate.
Improvement in our community starts with an understanding of where we are. A Walkable Audit will give us just this baseline and help us prioritize our goals and refine our vision for Main Street. A Walkable Audit uses scales/rating devices, maps, cameras, measuring tapes, and Q & A to discuss issues of redevelopment. Groups will stop frequently to discuss current conditions, talk to other pedestrians, visit a local business owner, or allow time for independent sketching and thought.
The Walking Audit will be the Kick-off Event for the Campaign for a Walkable West Bluff (CWWB). We will be inviting community leaders, press, neighborhood residents and business owners. We hope to have a team of students as well. There are already redevelopment efforts in place for Main Street and we feel it is important to inject a stronger community voice. The community needs to be present, vocal, and organized.
Join us for our Walkable Audit examining and evaluating the safety and desirability of walking routes along Main Street. We will form smaller “teams” who will be assigned certain sections of Main Street to audit. All materials, auditing tools, maps, and group signage will be provided by CWWB. Our goal is to sign-up 50 volunteers to conduct a comprehensive audit. There is also some interest in forming a bicycle team as well. Safety is of highest consideration given the busy Main Street location.
Please show your support by signing on and promoting a pedestrian-friendly West Bluff.
The Walking Audit is the first step in visioning for a vibrant Main Street. We need an accurate and clear picture of where we are before visioning where we want to be. As we audit, we will also be discussing implications of improvements. Following the audit, the Campaign will issue a summary report of our findings.
In addition to the Walkable Audit, the Campaign will also be sponsoring a team for the Great American Clean-up on the same day. We would like 8-10 people to volunteer to clean-up Main Street. This can be done in concert with the Audit or separately.
Please contact Lisa Ferolo at lferolo@mma90.com to participate in either event.
IN OTHER CAMPAIGN NEWS…..
We had a very successful meeting in March with over 40 people in attendance. The minutes are attached for anyone who missed joining us. There are highlights on the first page so you can catch up quickly!
WE’VE BEEN BUSY
* Met with Dave Barber, Director of Public Works, to discuss Main/University Traffic Study (highlights at April meeting)
* LOTS of Press - March Meeting was covered by the local Fox News affiliate; Peoria Chronicle; Peoria Pundit
* PJS Follow-up Article, March 27, 2008 (attached)
* Bradley Scout Article, April 4, 2008 (thank you Steve Spain for contributing to the article); http://buscout.com/ver5/newsarticle.php?ID=1187&date=2008-04-04
* Update on Walgreen’s Lot - Spoke with Barbara Van Auken (highlights at April meeting)
* Sent letter to Running Central to encourage this iconic Main Street business to remain and not relocate to another area of the City
* Attended meeting on Urban Living Initiative (highlights at April meeting)
* Prioritizing Campaign Goals and Strategies to Present at April meeting
WISH LIST
Volunteers for our Kick-off Event – we want the community to know that we’re serious about our Campaign!
NEXT REGULAR MEETING: April 29, 6:30 pm, Bradley Hall, Room 139 **(we outgrew our last location)
April 6th, 2008 at 11:30 am
Heh, I know this crosswalk. You’re right. NOBODY slows down here.
April 7th, 2008 at 7:59 am
Anyone have any idea why this is happening now? Did something change near that intersection that reduced visibility?
April 7th, 2008 at 8:48 am
People have been getting hit there since St James Apts went up. This isn’t exactly new. Since being a BU student seems to be increasingly a life risking endeavor lately, it is suddenly more news worthy.
April 8th, 2008 at 12:20 am
If you think that the Jaywalking is bad around Bradley is bad. You should travel down I74 and experience the Jaywalking around the U of I. If you hit campus around class times good luck not hitting some one
April 12th, 2008 at 5:56 pm
[...] it seems the local media doesn’t seem to care about the latest car vs Bradley pedestrian accident, I’m grateful that at least Bradley’s student newspaper, The Scout, did and [...]