Dear Editor,
Re: “Someone could die here: Pedestrian,” News, Sept. 6.
The story struck a chord with me. I agree wholeheartedly that something has to be done to ensure the safety of pedestrians at crosswalks all over Richmond before more people do die.
For some time now, my wife and I have witnessed so many dangerous situations at crosswalks.
Some crosswalks have yellow blinking lights when a button is pressed, others do not.
In either case, we have seen reckless drivers ignore or fail to see pedestrians who have already started crossing the street.
We have seen other drivers try to zip around cars who have already stopped for pedestrians. I recall a near tragic incident several months ago at a crosswalk on No. 3 Road.
I was driving on the outside (curb) lane approaching a crosswalk. I stopped when I saw an elderly woman with a dog waiting to cross.
The woman waved at me and started to cross. Her eyes were on her dog in front of her. When they were right in front of my car, I noticed in my side mirror that a car in the next (outside) lane was approaching fast and it didn’t look like it was going to stop.
I leaned on my horn and the pedestrian, startled, stopped.
The car screeched to a stop, and I yelled “What the hell are you doing?!” to the young male driver. I was shaken by the fact that I could have witnessed a deadly accident.
I believe that serious accidents can be avoided if all crosswalks had lights that turn red when pressed.
The ones that simply blink yellow are ineffective. They are either not seen because of their location at each end of the crosswalk, or they are ignored by drivers. There also needs to be stricter enforcement and stiffer penalties for irresponsible drivers who ignore the lights at crosswalks.
I hope the city will take note of the dangers at our crosswalks and take appropriate action before someone else does get killed at one.
Douglas Ng
Richmond
