Posted: 10/2/02

One way to help FL's crosswalk problem

Wonder if Amy Zaccardi is looking for any part-time employment?

In case you missed it, Zaccardi is the Minneapolis traffic control agent who had the ìrun-inî with Minnesota Vikings receiver Randy Moss last week. Moss is now facing misdemeanor charges for allegedly pushing the officer a half block down a Minneapolis street with his Lexus when she attempted to stop him from making a turn.

Zaccardi and Moss have transformed a traffic incident into a media event that is tipping the Twin Cities media mob on its head. They are falling all over themselves in looking for a new angle on this poor excuse for a story. But it does point attention to the problem of people being in the street when a car comes along.

After all the media attention generated last week, Iím wondering if Zaccardi is looking for a new gig. I know where she can find one.

Sheís just the right person to work as a traffic control agent at crosswalks in Forest Lake. With this woman standing at certain corners, there is no doubt motorists are going to have to stop.

Just ask Randy Moss.

In all seriousness, someone or something is needed when it comes to crosswalks. It is not a problem unique to Forest Lake.

David Schwartz, chief of police and director of public safety here, agrees. ìWe are having problems all over,î Schwartz said. ìPeople do not yield.î

Schwartz says it should be clear to motorists and pedestrians, but the problem persists.

By state law, he says, motorists must yield to pedestrians who are attempting to cross at marked and unmarked street intersections. The law, he adds, does not give pedestrians the right to cross a street at mid-block, or at intersections that are marked for specific ways where crossing is not allowed.

The same holds for signalized intersections where red light, green light rules are expected to be followed by drivers and walkers.

The downtown crosswalk in the 100 block of N. Lake St. always comes to mind when this issue surfaces. It has been one of my pet peeves for years.

When our office was downtown, I made frequent trips across Highway 61 and used the crosswalk which has a painted crossing area and flashing warning lights above the walk area. Still, you always had the feeling you were risking life and limb by attempting to cross there.

Weíve been gone from the downtown for more than 10 years but the problem still persists at this intersection, Schwartz says.

You hate to think the answer is to station someone like Zaccardi at this crosswalk, but that is what it might take.

The problem exists for two real reasons.

One is pedestrians hell-bent on making sure their legal right to cross in a crosswalk exists. Some pedestrians will boldly go where no other pedestrian has gone before, even if it means risking life and limb to cross a street.

Such behavior is not very smart. There comes a point when some common sense must be used by pedestrians.

The second problem is drivers who just donít pay attention. Some may not know the law, but I believe most are simply oblivious when driving through intersections with crosswalks that donít have signal lights.

Perhaps it can be blamed on tired minds from a long day of work or maybe it is the fault of the late afternoon or early morning when the sun is low in the sky.

There might be some drivers who are too busy yapping on a cell phone to pay attention.

The police have tried enforcement steps in the past. Some tickets have been written; others have received warnings.

What is the end solution to this problem?

Schwartz is at a loss for the answer, too.

ìIf I could answer that, Iíd probably be rich,î he said.

People ó walkers and drivers ó must be aware of where they are and what is around them as they drive a car or attempt to cross a street.

If people would pay more attention to where they are driving and the pedestrians on the street, it might be a problem that would go away. But it wonít unless everyone wakes up and makes a better attempt at obeying the rules.

Just ask Randy Moss.

Top of Page