Perils of Being a Pedestrian

I’ve said before that the Sault is not a very pedestrian-friendly city. The reason for this is two-fold.

First, there is limited access for pedestrians to the various malls and shopping centres. Some have one or two walkways leading to an entrance, while others require the pedestrian to walk along roadways and through the parking lot.

Second, despite having 351 kilometres of sidewalks — most of which are plowed in the winter — it can be difficult to find a safe place to cross the street. Especially on Great Northern Road, signalled crosswalks are few and far between, but even crossing at a light doesn’t guarantee one’s safety.

Friday I was waiting for the light at McNabb and GNR. There was a minivan waiting first in line while the oncoming traffic on McNabb had the left turn arrow. The driver of the pickup truck behind him grew impatient and began honking his horn. I turned to look at the driver and gave him an hand-upraised shrug, as if to say "what’s the problem?" He began gesturing for the minivan to get moving.

The oncoming traffic passed, and the minivan made a right turn. Then the light turned green for through traffic, including the walk signal. Myself and another pedestrian stepped into the intersection after checking that the pickup was not about to run us over. I pointed to the light and again shrugged.

The driver waited until we were clear, began to make his turn and stopped, rolled down his window and yelled "get a job!" I’m not sure why the fact that I was walking would suggest to anyone that I am unemployed. But, I merely waved at him and kept walking.

A block later, at the Pim and Bruce intersection, I was nearly run over by another pickup truck. I had the light, and looked back to check on approaching traffic. I saw the pickup and hesitated, waiting for it to stop. It didn’t. The driver merely swung around the corner and kept going.

Five minutes later, at Pim and MacDonald, I again had the light and checked traffic. An SUV was signalling to turn, but was coming to a stop, so I kept walking. As I took another look (I always try to keep my eye on traffic) I watched as this SUV was nearly rear-ended by a pickup truck. It would seem that the driver of the pickup was not expecting anyone to come to a stop when facing a green light at an intersection.

About a half-hour later after doing some shopping, I was waiting for the bus and watched as another pedestrian was almost struck by a vehicle attempting to make a right turn on a red light.

On the mornings when I go in to work, I have to cross North Street at St George’s Avenue. This is a particularly nasty intersection. The building on the corner where the bus stops has very little set-back from the road. Still, there is enough — a sidewalk’s width — to allow drivers and pedestrians to see each other.

Unfortunately, many drivers wanting to make the right turn onto St George’s look only to their left, intent on spotting a break in the traffic and scooting around the corner, rather than waiting for the green light. I’ve had a couple of narrow misses.

Folks, here’s the deal. Pedestrians, for the most part, are watching out for traffic. However, many of us operate under the assumption that drivers will obey the traffic laws, and will make an effort to not run us over.

Increasingly I am finding this to be a false assumption.

Many drivers seem too intent on getting where they are going to pay attention to something as insignificant as a person walking on the sidewalk. Heck, just given the number of vehicle collisions that are reported in the media it would seem there are a quite a few drivers who don’t pay enough attention to avoid hitting other vehicles.

What chance does a pedestrian have?