Drivers, Please Be Considerate

Last week, I was walking from the downtown library back to work a few blocks away.

Lincoln and Main intersect right in front of the library. You always have to be aware as you walk across this intersection because drivers seem to ignore that there even is a crosswalk there. Drivers should yield to pedestrians, but they don’t. I am always cautious there because I don’t want to be run over.

On this particular day, as I stepped into the crosswalk and got halfway across the street, the light changed from “Walk” to the flashing signal “Don’t walk.”

I always thought a flashing “Don’t walk” sign meant “caution - the light’s getting ready to change and pedestrians should get to the other side of the street.”

I was almost across the street - the light still was flashing “Don’t walk” - when a man in a car proceeded to berate me and cuss at me. His window was rolled down, and he yelled words that I won’t repeat in a family newspaper. The mildest thing he called me was “stupid.”

I ignored him and did not visibly acknowledge his rebuke, but it made me angry that people are so inconsiderate.

I’ve worked downtown for eight years. There are other crosswalks where motorists play tag with pedestrians. One such intersection is Monroe and Riverside. Drivers turning south onto Monroe often don’t even see the pedestrians crossing Monroe. So the drivers usually slam on their brakes because they aren’t expecting pedestrians in the crosswalk.

I wish drivers would be more considerate of those who are walking. Think how sick you would feel if you ever hit a person. It’s not something you can get over easily; it will replay in your mind again and again. Because of my experiences as a pedestrian downtown, I am extra cautious when I drive, especially around school crosswalks.

In my job, I travel frequently to Sandpoint, and we always walk to lunch from our office there. We walk down First Street, the town’s main street and also a U.S. highway. As you step into the street, the drivers always stop, even at crosswalks where there are no lights.

If people would be more considerate and show a little patience as they drive their cars through downtown Spokane - and everywhere else - the streets would be a safer place for everyone, pedestrians and drivers alike.

MEMO: “Your turn” is a feature of the Wednesday and Saturday Opinion pages. To submit a “Your turn” column for consideration, contact Rebecca Nappi at 459-5496 or Doug Floyd at 459-5466 or write “Your turn,” The Spokesman-Review, P.O. Box 2160, Spokane 99210-1615.