OSOYOOS TIMES-September 1, 2010
It’s a sad reality that most people respond to stories about tragic accidents or near-misses in our community with the sentiment “No one will do anything about it until someone gets seriously hurt or dies.”
That’s the way many people have reacted to news about a collision at a Main Street crosswalk on Aug. 13 involving a 14-year-old boy.
Granted, it would seem that the cause of this collision is a case of alleged impaired driving.
But the incident took place at a crosswalk that, like most pedestrian crossings in Osoyoos, has little in the way of indicators to let drivers know there’s a crosswalk there and is on a busy roadway.
Visibility of pedestrians crossing or waiting to cross from the curb at this crosswalk and many others in town is often reduced due to the angled parking of vehicles near the intersection.
Most of us have a false sense of security when we step out into a crosswalk as if the white lines on the road and the little signs on either side might protect us from impatient motorists trying to make their way through town or drivers who don’t look and try to weave around vehicles that have stopped for a crossing pedestrian.
It’s remarkable more people aren’t struck here in town on a regular basis and it’s fair to say everyone has a story where they’ve had a close call or witnessed a close call at a crosswalk.
Concerns about these kinds of dangers have been voiced for years by politicians, police and community leaders, yet few upgrades to our crosswalks have taken place.
Such concerns are often met with excuses about jurisdiction: crosswalks on the highways are the responsibility of the province.
When the officials who can improve our crosswalks are questioned about what’s being done in the wake of a collision, the answer usually comes back as “We’re looking into it.”
Well, how many more years of studies is it going to take before some basic common sense is implemented and the crosswalks in this town are overhauled to improve pedestrian safety?
Hopefully, not too many more, or we will be facing grim front-page news about some unlucky soul crossing the street who was struck down because an impatient driver didn’t happen to see those small black and white crossing signs at the side of the road.
So the message to Osoyoos council is: put more pressure on the B.C. Transportation Ministry to make some changes here.
And the message to the ministry is: Enough with the studies; we need more lights, better signage and safer locations for our crosswalks.
