Dear Sunday morning pedestrian at LRU,
First of all, let me say I was impressed that you had arisen so early on a Sunday morning when most of your college cohorts were perhaps still sleeping the morning away. I assume you were going to get some breakfast at such an early hour, or perhaps going to a church service even. But there is something I feel the need to share with you about some of your walking practices.
The intersection you were crossing at does tend to be quite busy. There are any one of a number of motorized vehicles traveling that road at any time during the day. I feel that’s one reason the college has chosen to put in crosswalks with lights to aid students in getting across the road. They have even gone to the trouble to have detailed instructions posted on how to cross safely, including how to get the crosswalk light to change to allow crossing. (Although I will say as an LRC graduate, I find it quite humorous that it would be necessary to have instructions for a college age student to be able to cross the road safely.)
This morning you were walking across the crosswalk while the approaching traffic had the green light for travel. The phone call you were having was of, I am sure utmost importance, but next time you’re crossing, you might want to consider giving the oncoming traffic your undivided attention. I am sincerely glad that the three cars in front of me saw you crossing and decided to come to a complete stop despite having the green light.
The reason I’m writing you is just to let you know that not all Sunday morning drivers are as alert as we were this morning. They may or may not be paying full attention to what’s going on in front of them. Perhaps they woke up a little late and are in a rush, maybe they’re taking a call or heaven forbid texting, or in some cases, maybe they had one-too-many night before and are still in the process of overcoming that inevitable hangover. Bottom line is that I am afraid they may not be able to avoid you like we did this morning.
I’m not one to tell others how to live their lives, but for future walks to the campus, you might want to consider following the indicated pedestrian signal: red is for stop; white is to go….and the countdown numbers tell you how many seconds you have to safely cross the street. You also may want to think about waiting for that phone call until after you’ve crossed the road. I just don’t want your time to be up forever.
Signed,
Concerned Sunday motorist
David Lee 