<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN">
<HTML><HEAD>
<META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1">
<META content="MSHTML 6.00.6000.16705" name=GENERATOR>
<STYLE></STYLE>
</HEAD>
<BODY bgColor=#ffffff>
<DIV><FONT size=2>Here's an issue that has not been brought up recently:
the lax enforcement of traffic laws in Moscow.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>I come to Moscow almost daily. There hasn't been a day
in recent memory that I haven't seen at least one case of a vehicle running a
stop sign or a stop signal. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>Almost everyday I see a vehicle run the beginning of the red
light when turning left from Washington onto 3rd. Sometimes a stream of
cars continues turning from Washington onto 3rd for several seconds after the
light has turned green for traffic on third street. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>I have witnessed many times vehicles running the red light at
6th and Jackson. Discussion with another person familiar with that area
confirms this observation. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>Unless statistics have recently changed, and if alcohol is
removed as a factor (because it crosses all violations), failure to stop at stop
signs or traffic signals is the largest cause of vehicle and
vehicle/pedestrian fatalities and serious injury collisions in the United
States.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>Kai mentioned a near miss at the crosswalk on Jackson in front
of the <EM>Daily News</EM> building. For most dangerous crosswalks, that
crosswalk is tied with the ones crossing Washington at 4th, right at the Moscow
City Police Station!</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>Moscow and Pullman both have the most pedestrian unfriendly
traffic of anywhere I travel as well as the scariest stop sign/stop light
problem. They are worse than Spokane which also has a real problem.
And yes, both Moscow and Pullman have more than their share of careless
(clueless) pedestrians and cyclists.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>Part of the solution is greatly stepped up traffic law
enforcement for both vehicles, cyclists, and pedestrians. Appended below
is an article about an approach Spokane is taking. It is similar (but not
as devious) to an approach that worked very effectively in another place that I
lived.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>Traffic enforcement policy is basically the domain of the
police department and their overseers, the city council. Along with
increased enforcement, it doesn't hurt to have <STRONG>continuing</STRONG>
education/reminders in the form of PSA in all the media.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>Moscow has hired a motorcycle policemen for traffic
enforcement. Unfortunately, in my observation, the number of stop sign/red
light runners and pedestrians in the crosswalk violators</FONT><FONT
size=2> does not seem to have diminished.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>If the citizens of Moscow are truly concerned, then the city
council should use their powers to persuade the MPD to do a much better job at
traffic enforcement. Besides making Moscow streets safer, such increased
enforcement might drastically reduce the time the MPD officers spend responding
to and writing reports on collisions.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>Art Deco</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2><A
href="mailto:deco@moscow.com">deco@moscow.com</A></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>___________________________________</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV>
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=800 border=0>
<TBODY>
<TR>
<TD align=left><A href="http://www.spokesmanreview.com/"><IMG height=20
src="http://www.spokesmanreview.com/images/small-logo.gif" width=200
border=0></A></TD>
<TD align=right><FONT face="tahoma, sans-serif" size=2>Wednesday,
September 24, 2008</FONT></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><BR><!--include virtual="/inc/story_guts_print.asp"-->
<P>Spokane</P>
<H2>In brief: Tickets aplenty in crosswalk sting</H2>
<P class=byline><BR>September 24, 2008</P><!---------Code for Big Ads-------------------><!---------End Code for Big Ads------------------->
<P>Spokane police spent more than 1 1/2 hours Tuesday working a well-marked
crosswalk at Hamilton Street and Desmet Avenue after neighbors near Gonzaga
University expressed concern about pedestrians in the area, said Spokane Police
Officer Teresa Fuller. </P>
<P>A plainclothes officer was used as a decoy student trying to cross the
street.</P>
<P>Thirty-five citations were given for failure to yield right of way to a
pedestrian, Fuller said. </P>
<P>"Drivers are reminded that not all crosswalks are marked. In fact, most
crosswalks in the city are not," Fuller said. "Other citations included no
insurance and drivers whose licenses were suspended. Officers also wrote up two
pedestrians for failing to obey a no crossing sign."</P>
<P>
<TABLE align=left>
<TBODY>
<TR>
<TD></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>According to state law, a driver must stay stopped
after a pedestrian or bicyclist has stepped midway into a lane of traffic at a
marked or unmarked intersection. Pedestrians do not have the right of way when
they try to cross the street midblock.</P>
<P>To report areas with repeated violations call the Traffic Hotline at (509)
625-4150.</P></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE
style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px"><FONT
size=2></FONT> </BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>