Huckleberries Online

New West: Keeping Sandpoint Safe

Posted by DFO

Dec. 16, 2009 1:08 p.m. • 5 comments

So for a pedestrian in Sandpoint, it’s easy to tell where passing cars are registered, and there has been a noticeable change in drivers of 7B vehicles since a second pedestrian was killed in town a few weeks ago. On the whole, 7B cars and local pedestrians have both become quite cautious, and now when their paths cross, an Alphonse-and-Gaston-like “you first, no you first” kind of interplay occurs. Cautious pedestrians step timidly off curbs and then back on, while the 7B drivers that see them slow way down and just wait. This dance is exaggerated at night; it was nighttime when both pedestrians were killed (the other occurred in 2006)/Cate Huisman, New West. More here.

Question: Have you ever had a close encounter with a vehicle while crossing a street on foot or walking along a road?

Five comments on this post so far. Add yours!

Cis on December 16 at 1:36 p.m.
no, but I have been involved in the dance of the walkers… I want a speaker in my grill, attached to a mike in my car… so I can say to them. PLEEEEEEEEEEEEESE WALK ACROSS THE STREET… I PROMISE NOT TO MOVE UNTIL YOU DO…
they step out, I slow down and stop.. they step up on the curb. We look at each other, I wave… they step down… and then back up. I am ready to get out of the car, and say for Christ sake, walk… across the dang street!!!.
LukeB on December 16 at 1:41 p.m.
Yep, and every time I try to hit or kick the car hard enough that the driver knows I was there. Usually it’s idiots taking a right or left hand turn through the crosswalk in which I have right of way.
mike_s on December 16 at 1:55 p.m.
I’ve only once been hit by a car, left a huge nasty bruise about the size of a football on my side.
Hereford on December 16 at 3:18 p.m.
LukeB, having the right of way doesn’t mean much if you get mowed down by a car. Pedestrians need to take responsibility and look both ways before crossing the street. Motorists need to be on the lookout for pedestrians.

Moscow and Sandpoint seem to have gone so far to be “pedestrian friendly” that common sense is thrown out the window. Some pedestrians, I’m guessing not natives, just stride out into traffic, forcing drivers to slam on the brakes. It’s worse when there’s fog, rain or low visibility.
hhuseland on December 16 at 5:07 p.m.
Those that fought the bypass for so many years, might want to think about whether the two deaths would have happened if the bypass were in place.

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About this blog

D.F. Oliveria is a columnist and blogger for The Spokesman-Review. Huckleberries Online was judged the best 2008 Idaho newspaper blog by the Idaho Press Club. And the best 2007 news blog in the Pacific Northwest by the Society for Professional Journalist. Print Huckleberries is a past winner of the Herb Caen Memorial Column contest by the National Association of Newspaper Columnists. The Readership Institute of Northwestern University cited this blog as a good example of online community journalism.