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Central Austin neighbors complain crosswalk is dangerous

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by AMY JOHNSTON / KVUE News

Posted on November 3, 2009 at 6:22 PM

Updated Tuesday, Nov 3 at 6:34 PM

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Some people who live and work in one Central Austin area say their crosswalk is an accident waiting to happen.

City workers have been fielding complaints, and police officers say it is a problem.

From Mangia Pizza, where Mandy Britt works, is a perfect view of the crosswalk at Guadalupe and 31st Street in Central Austin.

"Nobody stops. Ever. And that's what's so scary, one person will stop so you'll think you can go, but then the other person just zooms by and you're like - oh. You know, it's scary," said Britt.

Some who do stop get an earful from the car behind them.

"At this particular intersection, it's best if you just pretend the crosswalk isn't there. Because it doesn't function as a crosswalk," said Greg Whitworth, who walks there daily.

Part of the problem is that even if you make safely across one half of the road, the way the traffic lights are timed, there will always be another block of cars coming from the other direction. And often, those cars don't stop.

Austin police have no records of any pedestrians being hit. But people who work nearby say, they've seen plenty of near-misses, even some pedestrians getting clipped by cars.

Amy West was walking home Tuesday afternoon.  She made it halfway across Guadalupe, and then stood in the middle of the road -- a center turn lane -- while eight vehicles passed by going the 35 mile-an-hour speed limit.

"You got to make sure that there's not one coming around that's not going to stop for you, so I just kinda (peeks). It can get a little dangerous right there too," said West.

City engineers are paying attention to the area.  They say the crosswalk went up first, when the new buildings went up. Then signs for drivers -- farther out -- went up next.   But they still got plenty of complaints. So they did another traffic study.

"We found we get about 40 pedestrians an hour during the busiest times. Speed and volumes -- Guadalupe is a busy street -- 30,000 cars a day," said City of Austin Supervising Engineer Alan Hughes.

Those numbers are twice that of the last study.  So the next step is to add a pedestrian stoplight.  It will have constant flashing yellow lights.  When someone wants to cross, drivers in both directions get a red light.

"Now I'm like, 'Wow awesome - they really want to do something about it.' That's cool," said Britt.

Engineers say it will take about four months before those changes happen.

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genius said on November 3, 2009 at 6:46 PM

Good thing that the police are enforcing the 3 foot rule/ordinance...

blastoff said on November 3, 2009 at 7:30 PM

Hey genius; I hope APD is forcing the law the same to the riders who break the law on bikes. I have called 4 different city departments to ask how they are going to enforce the 6 foot law concerning the commercial units. Still have not got an answer. It must have been someone with a liberal arts degree taking in a salary of $120,000 a year to come up with this plan. Ok, politicians now come up with a plan to pay for all of the new marking and signs. Take it out of the biker's wallet with fees and yearly inspections to make sure they are in compliance with equipment on the bike. It is unreal how a city can overrule the state when the govenor veto the same type of bill months ago. We need to get out and vote to defeat the tree hugging and granola eating voters of Hyde Park!

tizzy1 said on November 4, 2009 at 10:52 AM

Doesn't the law state that automobiles MUST yield to pedestrians in a crosswalk or are we just misinformed? If the APD gives out tickets to JAY WALKERS shouldn't automobile DRIVERS be issued tickets for failure to yield to pedestrians attempting to cross in a cross walk? I wonder how many tickets are issued for violators. If there's no penalty for not stopping, why stop?

tizzy1 said on November 4, 2009 at 11:13 AM

If pedestrians are issued a ticket for JAY WALKING why aren't AUTOMOBILE DRIVERS issued tickets for failure to yield to a pedestrian in a CROSSWALK? If crosswalks are created for the protection of the pedestrian shouldn't they do exactly that? If there's no enforcement of the existing laws it serves to encourage a complete disregard. Besides, think of the revenue the city is losing.