It's a simplistic learning experience, but an important one.
Now that mid-block pedestrian crosswalks have been introduced in the central business district of Estevan, the awareness level has to go up for everyone.
What is gone now are the old jaywalking practices we so enjoyed in downtown Estevan for the past 100 years. It was always illegal to do so, but the practice has been pretty well ignored by our law enforcement teams. There have been incidents and yes, an occasional fatality but for the most part there was the uneasy truce between two factions. There were the pedestrians who needed to get to the other side in an efficient manner, and the policing personnel who looked the other way as long as we weren't being stupid when we crossed in the name of quickness ... making the jaunt from one business to another and back to our vehicles or our own business establishment.
Convenience and efficiency at the expense of additional safety.
Now it's different.
Mid-block, well-marked pedestrian crosswalks are the order of the day. That means motorists will be required to yield to those using these walkways.
The Fourth Street speeders will have to watch carefully since the situation they now encounter may require them to brake quickly just as they are beginning to accelerate since pedestrians no longer have to dodge them.
Previously we had that little traffic dance to perform. It was a dance familiar to all of us who have lived here for awhile.
The pedestrian would pay attention and if he or she saw a vehicle accelerating, they drew back and waited for a more opportune moment to cross the street. Or we could tentatively venture out into one of the four lanes of traffic, and do a little wave and cross-over two-step ... carrying on a non-verbal communication with the drivers. You go? No you can go, it's all right.
The key thing was communication and both drivers and pedestrians were well aware of the unwritten code of crossing.
Now it's different so we express a little fear or at least, concern.
Will pedestrians disregard their instinctive safety vibrations when crossing the street mid-block? After all, they have the right-of-way and it's well marked even if there are no pedestrian lights ... yet. So no problem, dart out into the street whenever you want. No need to look or listen.
Will you stop being acutely tuned in with traffic flows? Will the drivers travelling in all four lanes see you in time, especially if they've had to accelerate through the left-turn lane while keeping their eyes on on-coming traffic and the vehicle right beside them?
Will drivers, especially in these early days of mid-street crosswalks simply forget that they're there? Will some drivers continue to drive aggressively, just like they did when they didn't have to yield to the jaywalker?
How are we going to react to the new situation?
There are new rules to the old practice.
We urge drivers and pedestrians to pay more attention, not less attention to the street crossing game until such time as we all get more comfortable with the new game and how it is to be played.
In the meantime, jaywalkers who refuse to use the new crosswalks will probably be ticketed and fined accordingly by bylaw enforcement officials. We assume the old unwritten rules are gone.
