Back to School Messaging still Slights Unmarked Crosswalks

For back-to-school the Police have published a suite of images on crosswalks. The graphics are clean, uncluttered, and represent an advance on what we have too often previously seen!

Part of a suite of images

But as you see from the top image here, "Remember: every intersection has a crosswalk," all the images show zebra-striped crosswalks. None of them show an unmarked crosswalk. The images are a little at odds with the text and implicitly reinforce the idea that it's only marked crosswalks you really have to worry about. 

Some of the images should show unmarked crosswalks and underscore that drivers are still required to yield to people on foot at and in them.

Also the campaigns should spend more time on the asymmetry of power: Cars and their drivers employ lethal force. People on foot are far more vulnerable. One of the first comments on the post is "is the focus of responsible safety only on drivers?" and the City and Police should be quick to say, "Yes, drivers have a much greater responsibility for safety." And "kids are kids, elderly have reduced sensory awareness, and driving adults must look out for all people on foot." We need to get away from notions of false balance and symmetry.

Police also are advertising the annual crosswalk education and enforcement project:

[The] Traffic Team is working with Oregon Impact to conduct a pedestrian safety campaign on Thursday, September 8 and again on Monday, September 12.

The team will be out in the area of Court and Waverly STS NE on Thursday. Then, next Monday they will be in the 2200 block of Center ST NE and in the 1500 block of Edgewater ST NW.

Though the actions are funded by a third-party, not the City, as others have pointed out greater installation of speed and red-light cameras rather than very few and tiny education and enforcement actions would have a stronger systemic effect on safety citywide. These limited actions are more symbolic than effective.