People continue to speed through because they don't give a fuck and neither do police. I live a few blocks on in a far more residential setting (with two schools at the end of the street, no less), and drivers do the same thing. They fly through the 25 mile an hour zone and over the ridiculous excuses for speedbumps......and the police don't give a fuck here either. I always wonder what it will take-- someone's child being killed while they're walking to or from school, maybe-- to make someone pay attention, but that's apparently not the case. It's appalling to hear that, despite these recent and awful incidents, and despite the protest and vigil going on tonight, people continue to drive like complete morons-- at 80th and Foster and, it would seem, everywhere else.
Exactly. I love Sam standing there like the Fucktard he is, pretending he couldn't solve the whole problem by just sending the PPB out there to ticket these people. Oh sorry, they're too busy murdering homeless people downtown.
Thought this article in USA Today was relevant - they say pedrestian deaths are spiking nationwide, and a lot of cities are trying to come up with plans to fix it. http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2009-1…
@Jesus Fucking Christ - wasn't there an article on here just a couple of weeks ago about a big sting in the same neighborhood? The police ticketed people who didn't yield for a pedestrian crosswalk or something. So gosh, maybe it's not quite that easy?
Considering this is the 2nd fatality at that crosswalk in 4 years, even with improvements and traffic stings (yes, JFC, it's already been done), they may want to make people (gasp) walk the extra TWO BLOCKS to 82nd where there's already a light-controlled crosswalk.
Right, because an occasional traffic sting is all we can expect as far as enforcement of traffic laws. Traffic stings do not work and never have. There needs to be real enforcement of traffic laws. One simple and obvious example would be to place photo-radar machines at the intersection and to automatically generate speeding tickets for each and every speeder. That would solve the problem and pay for itself within weeks. No fascist union labor needed.
that is a crazy intersection for motorists and pedestrians i drive it all the time. its where SE Harold Street comes together with Foster Rd and crosses 82nd. At times when traveling east bound on Foster Rd (especially this time of year) its hard to see pedestrians attempting to cross from the North side of the street to the South. Personally i think it would be wise to re-engineer the entire intersection. or at the very least install a light that stops traffic completely for pedestrian traffic.
I don't know why anyone would even attempt to cross the street at that crosswalk. The light is only a block up, and honestly, people act as if the crosswalk doesn't even exist. People zoom down Foster, and even at the streetlights pedestrians are at risk from drivers taking right turns without looking in the intersection. Pedestrians are not a consideration anywhere on 82nd or Foster. I don't know if there is an easy solution. I feel horrible for the latest victims and hope that maybe Sam can help come up with an answer. In the mean time you pretty much have to watch your ass if you attempt to cross the street.
It's a problem everywhere anymore. Not too long ago and the city reduced the speed limit on most of Hawthorne Blvd. to 25. I spend a lot of time on Hawthorne and I constantly see cars easily doing 40+ and have never seen a single car stopped by police. Bob-Jim is right, the Police obviously don't give a fuck.
Hey, I drove through that intersection (westbound on Foster Rd.) last night at around 5:15pm. Slowed down to about 10 mph due to the large amount of pedestrians hanging around the crosswalk area. Point is, even 10 mph seems like "speeding through" to someone on foot. Also, almost got rear-ended by the car behind me because he wasn't expecting me to slow down. Bad scene made even worse by this "protest" bullshit. Morons.
Hawthorne just west of 39th always kind of scares me. Don't like to think I'm an old-lady-driver, but the lanes seem so narrow and there are so many bikes and people crossing against the light and outside the crosswalk that I'm always sure I'm going to hit somebody.
Maybe I'm confusing this incident with another one, but weren't both women drunk when it happened? It seems to me that I read they were crossing against the light. Don't you think it's possible this may have had something to do with the accident?
Just sayin'
to kimmy47 -- There is a natural way that people on foot travel there. They need to cross Foster. They see Fred Meyer's entry door (which no longer has an entrance ON 82nd Ave, only by the back of the building on the south and north ends), and they don't want to cross Harold and walk a LONG two blocks to get to the light, where you're more likely to get hit by people making a right turn without looking, or running the red anyway. The whole area is a nightmare for people on bikes or on foot.
Don't think you or any of us can solve the problem by telling people to just walk further.
@ujfoyt: You must be thinking about something else. Police stated unequivocally that neither alcohol nor drugs were involved with the accident on Foster.
@Jesus Fucking Christ - wasn't there an article on here just a couple of weeks ago about a big sting in the same neighborhood? The police ticketed people who didn't yield for a pedestrian crosswalk or something. So gosh, maybe it's not quite that easy?
Just sayin'
Don't think you or any of us can solve the problem by telling people to just walk further.
Cars are required to stop for pedestrians at unmarked crosswalks as well as marked crosswalks. An unmarked crosswalk is at any intersection.