Russell Wangersky’s column in Friday’s Telegram gave a good summary of what pedestrians have to face on a daily basis in this city.
I am still amazed the St. John’s City Council are going out of their way to accommodate the bicyclists by paving walking trails and thus putting more hardship on walkers.
Before this is finalized, I would love to know how many cyclists we are talking about.
It is obvious that this council does little or no walking in this city. On a daily basis my friend and I usually walk for 90 minutes. We always joke and say old age won’t take us but getting killed on a crosswalk will.
Walking across four lanes of traffic on a crosswalk is like playing Russian roulette. It doesn’t matter about the red light, drivers fly on through the crosswalks most of them on their phones.
We have yet to see in all our years of walking one patrol car driver who could ticket someone for not stopping on a crosswalk. We do try to arrange our walks around streets that we know are notorious for bad drivers and use as many trails as we can.
The new roundabout at Rawlins Cross is the worst ever, hardly anyone stops for walkers so you have to ensure you don't cross until there is no car coming towards you.
Lack of respect for pedestrians has been a persistent problem in this city for years. I do envision a time where cross-walk safety becomes a concern of at least one councillor and that he or she will make it a priority in their four year term and keep at it until improvements are made.
A municipal traffic patrol group would be a blessing.
Until then Russell and all other pedestrians, may you get where you are going in a safe manner.
Anna Penney,
St. John’s
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