Pedestrian-friendly Colorado?

[Kris Talley]

Good Samaritan ticketed for jaywalking in Denver:
http://blogs.usatoday.com/ondeadline/2009/02/good-samaritan.html

Apparently even good ordinances can't keep crap like this from happening.

There's no reason that something similar couldn't happen here, due to
this ordinance language: "....a pedestrian shall not suddenly leave a
curb or other place of safety and walk or run into a path of a vehicle
that is so close that it is impossible for the driver to yield." The
only time anyone could be cited for violating this ordinance is after
they have been hit by a car -- evidence that it was "impossible" for the
driver to yield (or stop).

[Paul Alman]

As I have been told many times "No good deed goes
unpunished." Stories like this make me want to move
somewhere far, far away.

Paul

Paul Alman
(734) 775-1156
pda...@att.net

[py...@sonic.net]

Thank goodness!
They rescinded the ticket:

http://www.denverpost.com/breakingnews/ci_11804531

--Margaret Pye

[phi...@mindspring.com]

When I took drivers training in high school, a very long time ago,
the instructors spent a significant amount of time drilling into
our heads that if we hit _anything_ or _anybody_ with our car
it was OUR fault. People in class would ask "well what about ..."
always the same answer - the drivers fault. Kids even asked,
"what if somebody runs out in front of you"? The answer "you need to
be aware of everybody and what they might do and prepare accordingly"

I am astonished at the attitudes today, like the driver that hit the
bicyclist on Eisenhower last fall: "I was afraid of the cars in the
next lane over, so I hit the biker instead". The law enforcement action
in that case was even worse, not even a ticket! I can only imagine what
my drivers-ed teacher would have said/done about that!!!

My son has been yelled at and nearly hit a number of times walking to school
downtown when crossing in the crosswalk with a walk signal by
right and left turning drivers that are too important or in too big a hurry that
they can't even wait for pedestrians to clear the street.

Some days, especially after reading articles like this one, I get really pissed off
by this culture of "I was in a hurry / they got in my way - so it's not my
fault I hit them"!

Pete

[Phillip Farber]

Amen. I've said a couple of times that I'd like to start carrying a
LARGE baseball bat with me when walking just to let my "important"
fellow citizens know that "I'm walkin' here." Not that I'd use it on
them .... Truthfully, I really have to agree with you, Pete. There's
more suppressed anger out there that the average motorist might imagine.
The car culture we've created is a monster. $5+/gallon can't come too
soon.

[Matt G]

Pete's comments are what we're hearing frequently. It is absolutely
shameful that his son gets yelled at for crossing the street (I didn't
hear that mentioned as a reason we're such a pedestrian friendly
city). I've seen this scene played out too many times (daily). We've
all seen it.

This does not have to be like this. Communities around the country
have changed attitudes in recent years. How many of us have visited
cities and been told "don't speed through town you WILL be ticketed"
or "make sure you stop at cross walks because the fine is $100"?

If we love Ann Arbor we must make sure these attitudes are changed.
The momentum is building and now is the time to keep up the dialog.

Carsten Hohnke is working hard to have our pedestrian ordinance
changed to provide right-of-way in the entire crosswalk (anything less
is NOT actually a right-of-way). It's a great place to start. We
need to show him support by helping to educate other council members
and city staff.

It's our responsibility to move beyond this google group and share our
voices with decision makers and the community.

Thank you all for giving me hope that someday soon pedestrians and
cyclists in Ann Arbor can walk without "the visceral sense of danger"
referred to by the USDOT.

Matt

--
--
Matthew Grocoff, Esq.
www.Greenovation.TV™ (Launching Earth Day, April 22, 2009!)
Real Homes - Real Improvement™
http://greenovationtv.blogspot.com/

[phi...@mindspring.com]

Matt,

I agree. It is the reason I devote time to WBWC and other bicycling
activities here in town. I feel like I can start to make some
difference and lead by example - showing people there is another way.

Sometimes our frustration leaks out. Long time cyclists and
bike commuters become very aware of the 2nd class status we
enjoy - barely tolerated as long as we don't inconvience the
1st class citizens in their cars. I fully support pedestrian
rights, I think cyclists encounter the motorist hostility/agression
more frequently though, so sometimes our attitudes take a turn for the
worse (I usually recover in a day or two :-)

The inequity is quite stark - if I actually threatened someone
with a large baseball bat as suggested, I suspect I would be looking
at 3 to 5 years hard time for aggravated assault or something. A motorist
intimidating a bicyclist or pedestrian with their 3 ton vehicle is
excused as a minor problem, or as in the case of Bonnie who was hit
last fall, not even given a ticket, and left with the impression
(by the police officer!) that Bonnie should have been on the sidewalk.
The 10 or 20 people that that motorist tells about it will all think
"gee, those darn cyclists really don't belong on the road, and if I
hit one, well, it was just an 'accident'".

This is why education is so important! There was a bicycle law training
class for local law enforcement officers here about a year ago. We had police
officers from all around SE Michigan. The officers all felt it was a good class and had
the opportunity to discuss cycling with a number of us long-term cyclists
that also attended. It would have been great if some more Ann Arbor officers
could have attended. I think there is another class like this coming up soon.

There is also going to be an official LAB Road 1 bike education class coming up in
May to teach road cyclists how to safely cycle in traffic. Carole Hann of AABTS and
Officer Kathy Vonk of the AA Police have been instrumental in getting this class
organized, we need to get the word out so that as many cyclists as possible can
benefit from this educational opportunity.

So I try to work to make things better and I really appreciate the
efforts of all the other people such as yourself that put in so
much time and effort into improving the situation.

Pete

-----Original Message-----
>From: Matt G <mhg...@gmail.com>
>Sent: Mar 3, 2009 9:15 AM
>To: wb...@googlegroups.com, cho...@a2gov.org
>Subject: [WBWC] Re: Pedestrian-friendly Colorado?
>
>

[Paul Alman]

Interesting points. I would like to add a further
observation:

Riding assertively (not aggressively) has certainly had an
effect on how most motorists treat me. Perhaps it is
because that is how they like to feel they are driving.
Waiting for drivers to adjust their behavior (through
familiarity or training or whatever) so that we can feel
safer is only one approach, and one I am afraid will only
lead to frustration.

Regarding pedestrians, does anyone else think that getting
the University behind such an effort might be a way to go in
addition to working with Council? I recognize that some of
the worst offenders are students around campus, but the
University has much to gain in supporting pedestrian
ordinances similar to those in California and in other
communities like ours.

Finally, the aggravated assault comment. Twice I have been
the "victim" if you will, of aggravated assault while
cycling, and in both cases, the judges reduced the charge,
brought by the police, to reckless driving, on the basis
that the driver would be "injured" if he lost his license.
Maybe turning the tide is the thing to do...

Paul

Paul Alman
(734) 775-1156
pda...@att.net


-----Original Message-----
From: wb...@googlegroups.com [mailto:wb...@googlegroups.com]

[Elizabeth Gray Calhoun]

From the Detroit News:

http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090303/METRO02/903030375/1409/METRO

Dad opens heart to hit-run driver
But judge exceeds plea deal, gives woman 21 months in prison

Robinson, a 40-year-old single mother of two young boys, was riding her
bicycle in the far lane of northbound Woodward Avenue in Royal Oak on
Sept. 19 when she was struck and dragged by a car. The driver never
stopped.

Dancy, also a single mother, whose teenage daughter was in the courtroom,
pleaded no contest last month to a felony charge of failure to stop at the
scene of an accident resulting in death. Police said Dancy intentionally
struck a parked car the day after the accident to cover up the damage;
they charged her with malicious destruction of property, to which she also
pleaded no contest.

Dancy was expecting to serve a minimum of 18 months per a plea deal with
prosecutors, which the victim's family approved.

But on Monday Oakland Circuit Judge Lisa Gorcyca said she had to go above
the agreement, sentencing Dancy to 21 months to five years and chastising
her for hiding her involvement in the case for more than 10 weeks before
Royal Oak detectives closed in with compelling evidence. That included a
piece of Robinson's bicycle seat found under Dancy's car, cell phone
records placing her near the scene at the time of the accident and an
impounded car with accident damage that matched the crime.

"I received many letters about how compassionate you are and how much you
love animals. You ran over Ms. Robinson like she was an animal. ...You
could have stopped. You could have called police. You were a mile from a
hospital," Gorcyca said.

[Linda Diane Feldt]

The most significant change in attitude comes from direct experience.
If we can get people out of their cars, being walkers and bike
riders, it will change their behavior when they are behind the wheel.
Then they also JOIN us and the hostility or us versus them mentality
is reduced.
There will always be jerks, but it is a way to help turn the tide.

Invite the people you know to go for a walk, come out for a ride.
Crate a culture where that is encouraged. Behavior will change.

And we need to do more on education, safety, etc. but the small
things can make the largest difference. Every time you write and talk
about the joys of walking and biking we change minds. And it is a
pleasure to hear about as well - and inspires me to do more.

I do prefer the sweet methods.

Linda Diane Feldt
Holistic Health Practitioner

[greenflash]

Maybe it's not a baseball bat, but I once carried an empty propane
tank from the south end of town to the north end. Believe me, I got a
lot of respect from the automobiles at every crosswalk.


On Mar 3, 11:31 am, Linda Diane Feldt <ldfe...@holisticwisdom.org>
wrote:

> > pdal...@att.net

[Matt G]

It's a sad day when we return to Mutual Assured Destruction (M.A.D.)
in order to feel safe at an intersection.