Pedestrians Crossing S. Monroe Face Speeding Cars

Why build a north-south freeway?

For many South Hill pedestrians, it’s already in place - at least for those who try to cross Monroe Street between Ninth and 10th avenues.

“The cars do get going,” said Tim Adair, who had just arrived safely on the east side of Monroe, clutching a cup of coffee from Huckleberry’s on the other side of the street.

Adair, who works in the neighborhood, shrugs off the Daytona 500 mentality of many drivers.

“You get used to it,” he said.

Seeking a soda from Huckleberry’s Fresh Food Market? Or the morning newspaper from Jones Pharmacy?

Put on your running shoes and be prepared to sprint across four lanes of speeding traffic, some neighborhood residents say.

The faded crosswalk lines at Ninth and Monroe, were repainted last week, but motorists don’t appear to comprehend their significance, residents of the area say. Stop for pedestrians?

“They come up the hill and continue on the gas pedal,” said officer Tom Sahlberg of the police traffic division.

“If we don’t have our officers working that corridor on a regular basis, you regularly get cars traveling 50 mph,” Sahlberg said.

Monroe is a 30 mph zone.

“In the fall and winter customers would come in and complain about the crosswalk,” said Sylvia Sjostrom, supervisor of the post office at Jones Pharmacy.

Jim Young said he doesn’t bother crossing at the corner of Ninth and Monroe.

“I could walk to the crosswalk,” Young said after crossing in the middle of the street, “but they still aren’t going to stop for you anyway.”

According to state law, any marked or unmarked intersection is an “understood crosswalk.” Motorists are required to stop for pedestrians, but Spokane Police Sgt. Gil Moberly said pedestrians who depend on the law to protect them are foolish.

“You can be right. You can be dead right,” Moberly said.

That means there’s the law - and then there’s reality.

For some South Hill pedestrians timing is everything.

In addition to calculating foot speed versus automobile speed, Judy Hawk’s method involves waiting for traffic to subside.

“I time it so I’m not crossing during the busy time of the day,” she said as she strolled eastbound across Monroe at Ninth Avenue.

From May through November the city of Spokane employs a crew of three to paint faded white crosswalk lines. They work from 3 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.

During the winter, colder temperatures prevent the paint sprayer from working properly, said Bill Yokum, a foreman in the city’s Transportation Department.

Yokum, who is in charge of the three-person crew, said he received a request last week to repaint the two crosswalks at Ninth and 10th.

Within two days the request was fulfilled.

But the addition of a visible crosswalk may do little to alleviate the problem, said Yokum, who has worked for 30 years in the Transportation Department.

“We’re not very courteous drivers in this town,” he said, sighing.

, DataTimes MEMO: These sidebars appeared with the story: CROSSWALK PAINTING The city of Spokane’s Transportation Department repaints all crosswalks during the summer and fall. School crosswalks take precedence. If your neighborhood crosswalk is in special need of repainting, call Bruce Steele at 625-6480.

TAKE STEPS TO WALK SAFELY The Spokane County Traffic Safety Commission offers these tips for pedestrians to avoid being hit by cars or trucks: Wear light, brightly-colored clothing, reflective material and carry a flashlight at night. Face traffic when walking and do not run out from between parked cars. Look left, right, left before crossing the street and continue looking until you’ve made it to the other side.