Description
Hello,
Thank you for listening to resident concerns about street safety. My experience has been ongoing for nearly 6 years now as my child is a 5th grader at Otis school. My description of what I’ve seen is mostly for school day crossings but as we also frequent Krusi park, we are often dismissed by drivers as they speed through the crosswalk and ignore us.
So this year, my child asked to walk herself to school. As a concerned parent, I agreed if I could make sure I see her walk across High St. safely. So for the past 2 months, I stand on Calhoun and allow her to cross both Calhoun and High St. on her own. The problem at the crosswalk, which has a sign for people to stop, is that many drivers are in a hurry to get to work etc and pretty much ignore the sign. I’ve watched cars slow as they approach but then all of a sudden they accelerate as though stopping for one child is not worth their time. It has been dangerous as she steps into the street. I’ve also witnessed one car stopping but when the car on the opposite side doesn’t stop, the car then decides to accelerate from their stop. Today, my child waited for several cars to pass as none stopped. I also tell her to make eye contact with the drivers but that doesn’t help. It was only when an adult came walking behind her and inserted himself into traffic that the cars stopped. I can’t expect my child to step out into traffic when I’ve told her to wait for cars to stop before safely crossing.
So, basically I’m asking if this intersection can be considered for a flashing crosswalk such as at all school crossings. I believe there is one on Fernside near Lincoln school and also by Lum but that is closed. Otis is fully open and on a dangerous street for kids and adults to safely cross without the help of flashing lights. This often holds drivers accountable so they don’t look like jerks driving though the flashing crosswalk. As it is today, the drivers ignore the pedestrians. Please consider this as a child safety issue and for elderly too. Thanks.
also asked...
A. Unsafe crossing
12 Comments
Alameda, CA (Verified Official)
AlamedaAv (Registered User)
RM (Registered User)
SeeDad (Registered User)
An anonymous SeeClickFix user (Registered User)
LAV (Registered User)
I am a resident on Calhoun Street and Peach. I have 2 kids and one attends Otis. we frequently go to Krusi park. I would sign any petition to get a stop sign and street humps on high street near this intersection at high and Calhoun.
Drivers are careless and frequently speed. I wrote to the Alameda Traffic changes as well. I know there is a plan to make major changes around the city but I did not see anything around this area. Please, I beg you to consider making these changes before someone gets hurt.
Thank you.
An anonymous SeeClickFix user (Registered User)
Your current plan analyzes and reacts to areas where pedestrians have been hit. I’d prefer a more Proactive vs Reactive approach to focus on just those areas where an accident has occurred.
Acknowledged Transportation Planning (Verified Official)
Thank you for reporting your concerns about street safety in Alameda, and for sharing your very relatable story. Your report will help inform the City of Alameda’s work to achieve our Vision Zero goal of eliminating traffic fatalities and severe injuries. We will use street safety reports, including yours, in combination with crash data and equity indicators to prioritize and design street safety investments. This evaluation will generally happen on an annual basis, with some exceptions for clear and pressing trends. Issues that the City deems to be immediate safety concerns will be elevated for quick action.
For more information and a list of current and planned transportation projects, see www.AlamedaCA.gov/SaferStreets
LAV (Registered User)
An anonymous SeeClickFix user (Registered User)
Transportation Planning,
Thank you for acknowledging this issue. If necessary, please ask someone on the Vision Zero team to sit at the Krusi entrance to watch the driver patterns at this intersection, during school drop off, dismissal, evening commute and weekends. It will be clear that a flashing crosswalk would alert drivers to stop and not just let pedestrians (& school children) wait patiently until cars in both directions stop.
I know the City does not find ticketing enforcement to be revenue (as stated on the APD FB page re: recent calls for traffic officers), but possibly asking APD to station a motorcycle officer on Calhoun to remind drivers of the traffic law. Even a big huge yellow sign that says School crossing zone would be a plus vs. the little sign in the middle of the road that cars just plow down.
Thank you!!
An anonymous SeeClickFix user (Registered User)
Transportation Planning (Verified Official)
@Lav, for more information about the data behind the Vision Zero Action Plan and the High Injury Corridors that it prioritizes, see the Ch. 3 of the Action Plan as well as Appendix F: Detailed Crash Analysis. Both can be downloaded here: www.alamedaca.gov/VisionZero#section-2
I passed along this report to APD.