Seattle is a fairly pedestrian friendly city. Usually if you step off the curb a car will stop for you. When I walk maggie, I stop at a corner where there is a crosswalk painted across the street and wait for the cars to stop. The first car doesn't always stop, but usually it doesn't take more than 5-10 cars before someone notices me and stops. I don't even need to step off the curb to get them to stop.
HOWEVER,
There are also streets where cars just assume they have the right of way. They won't stop for you even if you are at a non-signalled intersection (which by state law, means that cars have to yield to pedestrians). One such street is the one just east of our condo. Many cars speed along with no concern for pedestrians who have been waiting to cross. I've stood there trying to cross for more than 5 minutes sometimes. Lucky us, though, because one block north of our condo, the city has installed a crosswalk signal. It isn't fully operational yet, i.e. you can't push the button to make the light turn red, but it is a flashing yellow light with a crosswalk painted across the road. I saw the most amazing thing today. Even with just a flashing yellow light, 2 lanes of cars stopped for a pedestrian who wanted to cross at that intersection. She hadn't even stepped into the street. It was great! I can only imagine how wonderful it will be when pedestrians can make the light turn red which will guarantee them safe passage across the street. I'm very excited by this new light. Can you tell?
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