Here in St. Paul we have had some publicity and local community action done
on it. In Merrium Park the local activists went to problem intersections and
passed out flyers warning pedestrians and also held up and posted signs that
the drivers could see, letting them know about the right of way laws and to
be more careful.
At one point the City put up small, slim signs in the middle of the street,
on the yellow line, stating that pedestrians had the right of way. A well
intentioned yet very short lived idea since the got plowed over on a regular
basis. I think they may have lasted 2-3 months before they got removed for
being a driving hazard.
We have also had letters from State Reps in the local papers making sure
people knew the law.
We have also had the police set up the pedestrian equivalent of a speed
trap. Having someone try to cross the street at a proper intersection and
then pulling over those people to don't stop.
I should note that most of this is in the Highland or Merrium Park areas. I
can't speak for the rest of the City. Highland Park is home to one of the
big activists on this issue, Phil MacDonald, who because active on the issue
after his wife was killed crossing the street I believe.
The result is that while not nearly 100% of the time you will see more
drivers in this area yielding to pedestrians, even without a red light or
stop sign. I remember driving down Cretin Ave behind a bus once and the cars
kept stopping to let the people who had just gotten off the bus cross the
street.
Megan Thomas West Seventh
> From: "Phyllis Kahn" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> Date: Thu, 12 Apr 2001 01:43:13 -0500
> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> Subject: [Mpls] pedestrian rights.
>
> The pedestrian has the right of way at all intersections, marked or unmarked.
> It certainly helps to have marks and signs to get the attention of car
> drivers. Incidently bicycles have the same rights as pedestrians in a
> crosswalk with respect to vehicles, except that they also must yield to
> pedestrians. Clearly a well publicized enforcement effort would help. The
> violation is a misdemeanor and a few tickets would get serious attention.
>
> Phyllis Kahn, State Rep 59B and ward 5
>
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