LETTER- Jumbo crosswalks increase danger

I am really not surprised after seeing the many articles about pedestians being hit, and in some instances killed by automobiles in the city and surrounding areas. [Avon accident: No charges expected in ped death," online March 27; print April 2]

The city has given pedestians a very good chance of getting killed by a car by turning the streets into sidewalks. They are streets, for automobiles with speed limits much faster than a person can move.

You would think that the people in charge of the city would realize that a person can stop much faster than a 2,000-pound moving object, or not go blindly into the street where cars are meant to travel at speeds that can kill a person if hit. No, they provide gankplanks in the disquise of crosswalks ushering people to injury and death.

I have seen people walk into the crosswalks without even looking. Once, a man told me. "I don't even look," as I glared at him as I waited for the traffic to cease before crossing the street.

Why can't people understand that it is easier for a person to stop and wait, rather than hoping that the driver will see them in time? Stop telling people it's okay to not pay attention.

Gregory Brannock
Troy

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