In a mildly ironic twist, Charles Atherton, the former longtime secretary for the Commission of Fine Arts (he oversaw the design of major monuments and buildings) was struck by a motorist in DC and then issued a summons (with a $5 fine) for jaywalking before being whisked away to the hospital.
There was some speculation as to why the police offer was so adament about handing out the summons. The best explanation is that he was trying to assuage the distraught driver in pinpointing blame. Regardless,
"He was issued a ticket because he was at fault. That's all I can tell you," said Lt. John Kutniewski of the police department's major crash investigation unit.What?! Pedestrians should have the right of way, even when they are crossing outside of the crosswalk. No one deserves to be hit by a car.
72nd street station during improvement construction in 2001
The design of streets sometimes make it harder to cross at crosswalks. A small example in point: I was looking out a 34th floor window at a friend's place at W. 70th Street, the intersection where Amsterdam and Broadway cross. A few of the crosswalks definitely favor cars, harboring more cars at the intersection but forcing pedestrians to cross at a long diagonal. Walking across the intersection would be tedious without the wide refuge of the 72nd street station, and at the south part of the intersection, where there is no refuge, you have to keep on trucking across four lanes. I think this crosswalk went through an "improvement" just a few years ago. Crossing mid-block would be the most reasonable place to cross from my 3mph speed. Given the millions of people who travel at that speed, don't they deserve "right of way" when compared to the mere thousands of cars in the city?
Update: Some sad news. Richard Layman of Rebuilding Place in the Urban Space just told me that Charles Atherton passed away today. So unnecessary...
5 comments:
he died...
In Ontario, pedestrians can cross anywhere along the street and not be cited for jaywalking (though, doesn't mean we have the right of way). However, if you cross at a light, and disobey the signal, that's jaywalking.
Wow. That's awful.
The 72nd Street intersection at Verdi Square is vastly improved now than it was four years ago because of the expansion of the subway station underneath. I lived nearby back in 2000, and the subway was way too crowded all the time. They expanded it, and in the process took away Broadway's northbound lanes between 72nd and 73rd Streets that had been given to car travel. A rare instance where people were given priority over cars.
When I was taking Driver's Ed, we were taught that pedestrians always have the right of way. This driver should have been issued a summons or jailed for negligent manslaughter.
Pedestrians should stage a critical mass of their own. I love the bikers, but I also find them ruthless to walkers in the city because cars have made it so difficult to share the road.
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