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Letter to the editor

Main roads too busy to cut across traffic

Largo police can't force people to use common sense.

So people continue to try to cross busy Largo roads mid-block, and they continue to be hit by cars.

The latest incident occurred Wednesday, when a man on a three-wheeled electric scooter tried to cross Missouri Avenue mid-block and did not survive the trip. Jack Schaffer, 84, of Clearwater was hit by a pickup truck and killed, a tragedy for Schaffer and his family as well as the pickup driver.

The accident unfolded in the middle of the afternoon on a stretch of the roadway that has a Wal-Mart on one side and a Kmart on the other. Even when holiday traffic is not a factor, it is arguably the busiest part of Missouri Avenue in Largo, with six lanes of traffic, the big parking lots for Wal-Mart and Kmart, and numerous other stores and restaurants.

Though there is a traffic light and crosswalk within walking distance at the corner of Rosery Road and Missouri, some people choose to cross in the middle of the block, perhaps to go directly from Wal-Mart to Kmart. This puts them in potential conflict with through traffic traveling at 45 mph or more and cars entering and exiting all of the driveways.

Indeed, as Schaffer's body and his crumpled scooter lay in the road Wednesday, pedestrians continued to cut across the block. It is not illegal for them to do so, but it isn't smart and the consequences can be deadly. Attempting a mid-block crossing on a scooter is particularly unwise, since they are difficult for motorists to see and they move so slowly.

The Largo Police Department has made pedestrian safety a priority, but some pedestrians stubbornly resist the department's efforts.

The history of accidents at the intersection of Keene Road and East Bay Drive, both congested multilane thoroughfares, provides a relevant example.

Residents on the west side of Keene consistently walked across Keene just north of the East Bay intersection to go to a grocery store on Keene's east side. They ignored the stoplight and crosswalk at the nearby intersection. They continued to do so even though police warned them of the dangers, and even though there were frequent accidents and several fatalities in that block. A one-day survey by the city, conducted after publicity about accidents, showed that nearly 100 percent of the 88 pedestrian crossings in that block occurred mid-block rather than at the crosswalk.

Interestingly, one of the pedestrian fatalities there was a 91-year-old man riding an electric scooter. He didn't even have to walk to get to the crosswalk - he could ride there.

Eventually, the city had to install a barrier wall to keep people from crossing and to erect signs warning that mid-block crossings was prohibited.

Some of these pedestrians might be elderly folks who are unaware of how long it takes them to get across the street. The longer it takes, the more exposure they have to the possibility of being hit.

Or perhaps some of the stubborn pedestrians in Largo assume that motorists will stop for them. They must not be aware of how many distractions there are to take a motorist's attention away from the road.

Or maybe some pedestrians mistakenly still think of Largo as a small town. Largo has changed. It is a bustling place, at the center of densely populated Pinellas County, crisscrossed by four- and six-lane roads carrying heavy traffic. Motorists there are in a hurry, are distracted as all motorists are by signs and activity along the roadways and are sometimes impaired by drugs and alcohol. Furthermore, Missouri Avenue in Largo recently became Alt. U.S. 19. Enough said.

Pedestrians, don't count on motorists seeing you and responding in time to save you. Go to a crosswalk. Or do your shopping on only one side of the street. Or get a ride from someone who can take you directly to the door of a business. Using common sense could save your life on the roads of Largo.

Your voice counts

You may submit a letter to the editor for possible publication through our Web site at www.tampabay.com/letters, or by faxing it to (727) 445-4119, or by mailing it to Letters, 710 Court St., Clearwater, FL 33756. You must include your name, address and phone number. Letters may be edited for clarity, taste and length.

[Last modified December 15, 2007, 20:54:43]