Evening star., 1923-01-01
Middle of Block Safe
Corner Street Crossing Hazards
Warrant Consideration.

To the Editor of The Star:
AS an ordinary. common-sense OBJ
server. / came to the conclusion long
ago that place distant from the
street corner was much safer tor
crossing street than place at
the crosswalk, and | have already
said so in letters which you have
printed. have found other ordi-
nary observers agreeing with me. In
walking the length of a street it
would. of course, be very inconyeuient
TO walk up to the middle of the
block to cross every interseCting
street which one must cross and
some compromise is necessary. Even
where crossing is guarded by
policeman. and the pedestrian awaits
the signal of the policeman before
crossing. lie will often find that the
signal is changed before the crossing
has been cleared. and machines
awaiting the signal TO cross the
crossing start so promptly that he
must jump to get over. The greatest
danger of being struck in such case
is from the machine at the front OF
the line awaiting the signal to go.
The machines behind will not start
until that front one starts. so If a
pedestrian were to cross behind that
front one when it was standing, IN
stead OF IN front OF II, lie "Oulu DC
much safer for he would have dou-
BILE signal of the time to cross. When
the line of machines is moving no
one would venture to start across the
street unless an approaching moving
car were a safe distance away. The
rule should be, therefore. that no
waiting machine should stand beyond
the intersecting curb and that the
crossing lines should be FAR enough
from the curb, say twenty feet. SO
that a clear space for crossing should
remain open behind the standing car.
Now comes the testimony and advice
of DR. Raymond Dodge. head of the
psychological section of the National Re
search Council, not the ordinary OBJ
server, who says, in Science for Decem-
Der -,
LAS a matter of safety there are
grave doubts as TO whether the present
regulations that limit pedestrians to
, narrow street crossing at exact inter
sections of streets is the best practicable
solution. II may be more convenient
for drivers, but the exact intersection
of streets is most dangerous for pedes-
trians. Behind waiting cars is safer
than in front of them. Twenty feet
from a cross street would diminish
turning cars.
Use of all parallel streets as one
way streets would be great ad-
vantage There is a slight but real
!
street for pedestrians. 1t can be
demonstrated that the left-hand
sidewalk is safer. When the pedes-
| trian is on the left sidewalk, about
| to cross a street. he has TO watch
| only automobiles on his left and to
| the right of him. while walker
stepping off the right-hand sidewalks
| across a street has to be alert 10
possible danger on his left, to his
! left rear and to his right. II is weli
| known that the left hand of the
street should be used by pedestrians
when there is no sidewalk
| When, in walking along street
one has occasion to cross the street,
] ne has the choice of crossing place
| within several blocks. This is very
different from the crossing of inter-
| secting streets. He should never
cross the street at street crossing
| in such a case, but look for an op
portunity to cross in the middle OF
| the block. where he can see what IS
| coming from either side of him, and
avoid all danger of cars coming upon
| 1im from around a corner.
| 3. PICKMAN MANN.
1918 Sunderland place, Dec. IS, 1922.