Yes, AFAIK = As Far As I Know.
I refer you to Maine statute Title 29-A, Chapter 19, Section 2056
<http://legislature.maine.gov/statutes/29-A/title29-Asec2056.html>,
paragraph 5, which states that "A pedestrian must yield the right-of-way to
a vehicle when crossing a way other than within a marked crosswalk." My
non-lawyer non-traffic-engineer interpretation of that is that it's
not *illegal
*to cross midblock without a crosswalk, but if you do it, you are required
to yield to traffic, rather than the other way around. (Yes, they also have
a general "duty of care" to not hit you, but you are not otherwise legally
entitled to expect them to yield.) I feel that I can do it safely, usually
waiting until there there is no traffic in sight in the lanes that I am
about to cross, and I respect if others make the same decision. I can't
speak to the advisability of doing so for people in wheelchairs or
visually-impaired, since that is not my experience. I would think that they
would have a harder time evaluating the safety of midblock crossing, due to
slower and less controllable speed (wheelchair) or visual limitation for
seeing approaching traffic.
On Sat, Jun 23, 2018 at 12:29 PM Lee Prince <leeleeprince51@xxxxxxxxx>
wrote:
AFAIK? As far as I (you) know? I agree; it's up to EVERYONE to do his/her
part! I myself was reprimanded and set straight not too long ago; your very
own Founder was going to cross Main Street WITHOUT using the crosswalk! My
neighbor, who's also a member of WSMAC, promptly chastised me and that I
should set a perfect example for the Committee and community.
Now, I stick to sidewalks, crosswalks, etc. It's up to each one of us
esteemed WSMAC'ers to do our part. Every little bit helps!
On Sat, Jun 23, 2018 at 12:24 PM John Brooking <johnbrooking4@xxxxxxxxx>
wrote:
People will do what they want to do. It seems clear that the crossing at
Central is a strong "desire path", probably due to it being the quickest
way to the CVS plaza from a heavily residential neighborhood, and it
appears that removing the marked crosswalk and posting signs just isn't
enough to change natural human nature to take the most direct route. But
I'm sure that DOT would be totally against restoring the mid-block
crosswalk there, because no doubt theirs was the final decision to relocate
the recommended crossings to Mechanic and Bracket Streets when they last
reconfigured WCD.
I know a family whose eldest daughter, now around 30 years old, was hit
on her bike when she was a teenager, crossing at that very spot. And that
was when there used to be a marked crosswalk there. She was pretty
seriously injured, but AFAIK she's fine now.
I don't know what to recommend. The City's hands are tied by the DOT in
terms of official changes, and there's already signage. Continue educating
about using only marked crosswalks would be one. But education will never
reach everyone.
On the positive side, the fact that he was wearing some kind of helmet,
and watched for traffic, indicates that he was at least somewhat aware of
what he was doing, and made his journey without mishap. I freely admit as a
pedestrian to sometimes crossing large streets midblock, using the median
as a waiting place. If I'm on my bike, I will dismount and walk it in that
situation.
On Thu, Jun 21, 2018 at 12:49 PM Dennis Marrotte <
dennis.marrotte1111@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Hello,
After being invited to the Quill for Tea by a friend, I was busy with E
-Mails in my truck, parked behind Family Dollar Store facing the
doublesided Post mounted Universal " Do Not Cross Here, Red Circle Crossed
Out and smaller sign
Use Crosswalk --> pointed towards Mechanic Street.
Then I watched a Boy, 10 - 12 Years old, carrying a plastic bag filled
with something, wearing what looked like a full sized Motorcycle Helmet,
pedal across the parking lot directly towards the above noted Sign, Pause
briefly, watching traffic on WCD, then continued pedaling shakily, over the
curb, across the west lanes, across the raised median, and across the east
lanes of WCD, across Sportsman Hardware lot and up Central Street.
We have been darn, darn Lucky, so far, with Summer officially starting
this week, without any Pedestrian or Bicyclist accidents. Such endeavors
as I witnessed just an hour ago will not continue forever.
Dennis Marrotte.
