Students rally for pedestrian safety

Suzie

- December 6, 2012 at 07:30:55

I have been out around mun lots of times and some students are just walking up the road and then decides they are just gonna cross without even stopping or looking. You have to give drivers a chance to know that you are going to cross the street.

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Fred

- December 5, 2012 at 10:36:32

Clearly safety is everyone's responsibility. Drivers need to be aware of pedestrians and pedestrians need to be aware of drivers. Just as a driver should not drive while texting, a pedistrian should not cross the road while texting....in short, everyone needs to pay attention when using the public road system. Only YOU can prevent accidents.

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Just Think

- December 5, 2012 at 10:20:40

i have had some near misses on Westerland. Students really need to learn some traffic / redestrian safety. No matter what drivers do, pedestrians still have some responsibility. 1) Stop and Look both ways, get off the cell and txt. 2) Wait for a break in traffic, cars can not stop on a dime if you walk in front of them. 3) Pay attention, don't be lost in your own world with head phones in. 4) Use sidewalks, even in the winter they might not be perfect, but better than risking an accident. 5) Use crosswalks, they are in visible spots where it is safe for drivers to stop. 6) If you have to walk on the street, walk single file and reduce the risk place on the person walking two abreast. 7) Obey traffic signals, they tell you if it is safe to cross. Cross on green, not red. 8) When crossing at a corner, look at what can be coming around the corner the is as important as looking both ways. 9) Cross at 90 degree angles, this way you get off the road sooner.

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Young Voice of Reason

- December 5, 2012 at 06:23:55

MAYBEL as a student I have to be fair. MUN is not the problem. Its not MUN's road. They have a pedestrian overpass which links the Aquarena to the Field House. The city of St. John's is responsible for Westerland Road. I think the city could do more like: Provide more lighting at crosswalks- yes they have flashing amber lights but flood light the crosswalks as these are heavy traffic areas. In winter they should clear at least one sidewalk on Newtown Road. Alot of students (me included) have to walk that daily and in winter we are forced onto the road. There are plenty of tunnels and pedestrian over passes on Prince Philip Drive, There should be no crosswalks allowed crossing a 4 lane highway as it is only luck more people have not been struck trying to cross there. On campus I would like to see speed bumps especially around the residences and on Artic Ave. Thank you.

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amanda

- December 4, 2012 at 23:45:32

Over head lights wont mean anything. Me and my fiance were stopped on Kings Bridge Road at the overhead lights for the cross walk. Three boys no more then the age of 12 were crossing the road. The vehicle behind me was a black SUV and he was impatient that i was stopped so he went around me and almost struck one of the boys. In fact he would have had the boy not jumped back. He never even slammed on his breaks he just kept moving. I would have called it in but i didnt get his plate number. It was ridiculous! It's not the city. The drivers in this city are mad! We need to be more cautious of our driving and pay more attention. Had that been a mother pushing a stroller the stroller would have been struck. I see people walking across busy streets all the time and not in a cross walk. But the ones who are in the cross walks are in just as much danger because no one pays attention.

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Harold

- December 4, 2012 at 21:39:28

st. john's boasts of being an oil boom city, now spend some oil $$ and put in some pedestrian overpasses. don't expect all drivers in st. john's to be alert and curtious toward pedestrians even if the pedestrian has the right of way. advice to the students. your families want you home safely, please be careful

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A driver

- December 4, 2012 at 20:00:53

I am a driver,a very careful one,there are alot of nasty drivers out there I drive though there on an everyday basis to my job at the HSC yes I see alot of bad drivers and I see an awful lot of students jumping lights,just to cross the street,if I,m not mistaken are these over head walking tunnels put there to make it easier to cross the roads,I know it's sometimes out of your way to walk a little bit farther,but us drivers have to drive around we can,t take a short cut and jump the media.So all around walking with your eyes peeled also,wear defective clothing at night .At 5 pm it's pretty dark and you are not seen in time.I watched the news tonight when they brought up the accident the summer that took the life of a young girl.Like the young one who ran across the road by Wendy,s this summer neither were on cross walks.Be are I'll kids as much as us drivers has to be carefull.Not that we can,t see and should not be driving sometimes it is hard to see people on crosswalks when they are dressed in dark colors.

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CHUCK

- December 4, 2012 at 17:12:03

I AGREE WITH THE THE COMMENT FROM BRAD I DRIVE THE CITY STREETS EVERYDAY I SEE PEDESTRIANS WALKING THE SIDE WALKS TEXTING ON THE CELL PHONE STEPPING OF THE SIDE WALK ON TO THE CROSSWALK AS IF THEY ARE INVISABLE I GOT NO OBJECTION ABOUT STOPPING FOR PEDESTRIANS BUT THEY SHOULD SHOW SOME RESPECT TO THE DRIVERS WE ARE ALL NOT MIND READERS

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Dan

- December 4, 2012 at 17:08:10

Brad, the "responsibility here" is on the driver of the massive vehicle travelling too far in an are heavily used by tax paying pedestrians. We who walk deserve the same respect as those of you who drive. Don't cloud this issue and for god sake show this young courageous women some respect. Period

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Maybel

- December 4, 2012 at 15:57:43

I cross this road multiple times everyday - and I witness impatient and distracted drivers failing to stop almost everytime. I've had drivers go around me when I'm already halfway across the road. I've had drivers stop for me, then honk their horns at me for walking across (they expect me to run?). Whenever it snows, the majority of drivers conveniently forget that the crosswalk is there at all. I frequently see drivers cut off pedestrians only to speed up and stop, to spend more time sitting at a red light! This road goes through a university campus. It should not be treated as a thoroughfare. The entire section should be a pedestrian right-of-way. Police should be stationed there to enforce traffic safety and actually ticket dangerous and distracted drivers. Oake should be blaming the university and the RNC for her accident. They've known that this was a dangerous part of campus for a very long time - but they ignore it.

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Bradley

- December 4, 2012 at 15:47:49

Brad, this accident was infact not the pedistrian's fault. All drivers have to yeild at a crosswalk for a pedistrian. There is no grey area here. This accident happended on the campus of the university, between the Education building and the Aquarena. This young woman is trying to raise awarness as the issue of bad driving is not as easily corrected as brighter crosswalks, speed bumps, etc. If you cannot see people at crosswalks, get your eyes checked, or leave your vehicles at home.

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• 

  Brad

  - December 4, 2012 at 16:54:28

  Clearly you have not read the first sentence of my post, and have not driven in the downtown area where it is common people jump out to cross the street in between parked cars where there's no crosswalk. Perhaps you need your eyes checked.

Dan

- December 4, 2012 at 15:41:30

Erect some lighting in that area, its very dark there and hard to see people. Also students PLEASE be very aware of your surroundings, drivers in this city are some of the worst I have seen. Be careful out there!

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Brad

- December 4, 2012 at 15:15:55

Not saying this particular case was the pedestrian's fault...but... Pedestrians need to get their act together when crossing the road. I have seen too many instances where they just think they can walk on because the rules on the road protect them even though they aren't in crosswalks, crossing even though they do not have a walk signal, or just going even though they jump out from behind a car dt without the driver getting a chance to stop, or wearing dark clothes. Remember the basic rule, If you can't see me, I can't see you! Do not cross the road until you can look the driver in the eyes, and don't rely on the rules to protect you, it's still not going to prevent a nasty injury, I'll be the first person to say there are many dangerous/stupid drivers on NL's roads, but there is only so much drivers can do. Pedestrians also need to take a degree of responsibility here.

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