I have to admit I kind of had the same reaction at first blush. I'm an active pedestrian (my commute is on foot) and I sometimes feel slighted by the bicycle crowd. I definitely don't want to feel that division--we should be allies!

There were a few comments to the previous post that made me sad. There was implication that nothing sets pedestrians apart or gives them a "community" because everybody walks sometimes. There was also the intimation that the city's streets are already made safe for pedestrians with crosswalks, etc.

Both of these comments made me sad, especially the one that espoused the notion that pedestrians already have all the safety they need.

Bicyclists don't have a monopoly on the infamous "right hook" turns. I face them all the time. There are times when I literally just stand on the corner, even though I have the light, because I can tell that the driver in front of me, turning right, hasn't seen me at all. Many intersections have neither crosswalks nor lights. Many drivers don't know that at these intersections pedestrians legally have the right-of-way. Many drivers don't wait for me to cross at stop signs, or pull so far into the intersection that I have to walk around the back of their vehicle.

None of this is meant as a diatribe, or an accusation as to the evils of driving OR biking. I think all forms of transit are worthwhile. Heck, I wish I were enough of a gearhead to want to deal with replacing my bike, stolen out of my garage last fall. I do own a car. But let's not forget that pedestrianism (OK, I may have just coined that term) is technically better than any other form of transit (that I can think of!) for the planet and congestion and all of those other great things.

I hope this doesn't tick anyone off. Let's all just be friends.

There was implication that nothing sets pedestrians apart or gives them a "community" because everybody walks sometimes.

Lyza—I was the one who commented to that effect, but didn't dive into it further. I wanted to clarify that I don't think pedestrians are lesser because "we're all pedestrians." It does strike me that it can be harder to organize pedestrians, because not everyone thinks of walking as a form of transportation, or a way people commute—but that's what it is...

I've never come close to being hit by a car while walking. I have, however, been clipped by red-light running bicyclists twice. As a pedestrian, I feel absolutely no affinity for two-wheelers.

I've never come close to being hit by a bike while walking. I have, however, been lightly hit (contact but thankfully no damage done yet) by right-turning cars on more occasions than I care to remember. As a pedestrian, I feel absolutely no affinity for four-wheelers.

I walk a lot--my walk to work & back is between 5 and 6 miles, and I live in a neighborhood with lots of traffic. And I have had many pee-your-pants close calls with cars. In the last month, I was almost hit by cars on 3 separate occasions. One car ran a red light, one was speeding and failed to stop at a crosswalk, and another time it was the deal where 3 of 4 lanes all stop and wave to the pedestrian, but the mofo in the last lane floors it and nearly kills the pedestrian.

I walk a lot too and I've had some close calls where the drivers curse at me as I cross the crosswalk with a green light while they make a left hook at me. It's fucked up, but I let them go by since it's my life on the line.

I remember not long ago, the Portland police were running stings on drivers that would not acknowledge crosswalks, crossing signs and stop signs. They really should start doing that again.

I too walk to and from work and have had my fair share of uncomfortably close-calls with cars. First of all, I'm of the opinion that there are a lot of folks out there who really never should have gotten a drivers license in the first place and I can't tell you how many obviously too-distracted-by-their-cell phone-to pay-attention-to-much-of-anything drivers I see on a daily basis.

The biggest problem is that people don't pay attention (even so-called "careful" read;easily surprised drivers). We have a general attitude in this country that driving is a right rather than a privilege and people don't seem to take into consideration the responsibility they have when they get behind the wheel. Even drivers ed courses are designed to pass as many people through as possible so they can get their license as quickly as possible so they can get a car and drive all the fuck over the place wasting precious resources and contributing to global warming and giving oil companies huge profits. *whew*

We as a country need to change our attitude about driving in general and stop taking it so much for granted. I don't know how this will happen and it certainly won't happen easily or fast (or fast enough). I gave up my car but my situation made it convenient for me to do so. Maybe if gas got up to $5+ a gallon people might re-think their habits??

Sorry to run-off about this but I find the issues too interconnected to focus on just pedestrian safety, since I see that as a symptom of a much larger problem.