[enter snark mode] I’ve read 4-5 articles in the last year about the record number of pedestrian deaths and injuries all over the US. One even mentioned Albuquerque as having one of the highest rates in the country. I’ve been a pedestrian (aka “target”) every day in Albuquerque for several years and I’m happy to report that I am still alive and unmaimed even though I always carry a backpack that reduces my maneuverability and car dodging abilities. But lets be realistic, how long can my luck hold out?
The Spanish have come up with a clever solution to this problem that they call a paso de peatones, in English it would translate into something like ”crosswalk”. For Albuquerque residents unfamiliar with this concept here is what they look like.
Here’s the idea: people enter the crosswalk and the cars stop for them, every time. I know this beggars the imagination but it is really true, I’ve seen it with my own eyes. Albuquerque could try this ingenious Spanish idea and reduce the pedestrian fatality rate and avoid bad press on the national media. [exit snark mode]
Oh too funny. I am always grateful for the split crosswalk on Carlisle where there is a safe place to stand half way across. And then I pray no one tries to stop for me because surely they will be rammed from behind by someone not paying attention to something as inconsequential as a pedestrian.
They have the same island-in-the-middle setup at Girard and Haines. Yeah, Moira and I worry about that too. We often won’t start across if we can’t go all the way, especially at rush hour when people running late are speeding, because we don’t want to cause a rear-end collision.
Thanks Charlie! It’s the same in Canada: a pedestrian enters the crosswalk, all traffic stops on both sides of the road automatically. It has filtered down to my northern Vermont hometown, (a place with lots of part time Canadian residents), AND, there are multiple crosswalks along the Main Street. The number of crosswalks really slows traffic down-makes it much safer for pedestrians. I always have to re-orient myself when I drive there.
Loved your lighthouse adventure and your “Camino endurance” to make it happen! Buen Camino! H