The Congress – High Intersection is one of the busiest in the state.
The November 12th meeting of the West End Neighborhood Association (WENA) had a slow agenda, so the floor was opened for concerns from neighbors.
What came up? Jaywalking.
Barry Hoffman, who has an office in the West End, began the conversation, “I almost killed someone crossing in the middle of the street wearing all black.”
Immediately others chimed in, upset that pedestrians did not use crosswalks, or even look both ways before crossing.
In the defense of pedestrians, some argued there are not enough crosswalks. Many WENA members had specific street crossings in mind where, if crosswalks did exist, they were not painted recently enough to actually be seen.
There was general agreement that more public education was needed. To that end, Reiche Elementary PTO was working with the school to encourage parents to model good pedestrian behavior.
“We have to change our behavior,” said Reiche PTO member Jean Swanson. She said the upcoming PTO newsletter would have an article on the topic.
