One of the crosswalk advocates, Debbie Poore, said she pushed for crosswalks after visiting Paris.
In Paris, the streets have crosswalks everywhere, sometimes as close as 20 feet apart, she said. Enter a crosswalk, and drivers stop for pedestrians always.
"I came back from Paris and thought 'Why can I cross the street more easily in Paris than in Homer?'" Poore said.
"It's taking a long time this summer for the crosswalks to appear," she said.
Wrede credits Poore's group with speeding up the process of installing crosswalks. The state didn't have any plans for crosswalks until citizens demanded them, he said.
"Because they raised the profile of it, it caused it to happen sooner," Wrede said.
Wrede said the city hasn't done a formal study yet, but in general he has noticed pedestrians using the crosswalks one is in front of Homer City Hall and drivers respecting pedestrians and bicyclists.
State law requires drivers to come to a full stop when people enter the crosswalk and to not move until the crosswalk is clear in that lane. Drivers also can't pass someone stopped ahead for a pedestrian.
Homer Police Chief Mark Robl said drivers can be fined $100 for failure to yield to a pedestrian in a crosswalk. Commercial drivers can be fined $150.
Robl said police haven't received any complaints of drivers failing to yield.
Poore's observations of crosswalk use have been mixed. She said she's having to learn to be aware of pedestrians and to stop for them. If she sees some kids who look ready to cross, Poore stops for them.
"I'm trying to become more proactive," she said.
That doesn't always work. Sometimes drivers go around her when she's stopped for a pedestrian. Drivers have honked their horns while Poore waited for pedestrians to cross. Many drivers just don't pay attention.
"It seems there has to be heightened awareness," she said.
Poore's observations are similar to crosswalk use seen on Pioneer Avenue during this month's First Friday gallery openings. When crossing Pioneer Avenue at Kachemak Way, a westbound driver stopped, but as this reporter moved into the opposite lane, a taxi driver barely slowed down and didn't come to a full stop. Other walkers encountered more polite drivers, and had both lanes of traffic come to a full stop.
Pedestrians also didn't use the crosswalks. Instead of walking up to the intersection, gallery hoppers going from Ptarmigan Arts to Picture Alaska jaywalked straight across. Even then, most drivers stopped for them.
On the following Monday during the middle of the day, some drivers stopped, others didn't. A man in a pickup truck heading east noticed two boys on bicycles trying to cross from the other side of the street, and stopped and waved them across.
Trying to cross Sterling Highway is an adventure, though. Bob Faucher, visiting from Medford, Ore., jogged across the five lanes from the Alaska Islands and Ocean Visitors Center to Poopdeck Street, pausing briefly in the center turn lane.
When the state installs crosswalks on the highway, there will be an island in the middle for pedestrians to pause safely while waiting for the other lane to clear, Wrede said.
Faucher said he noticed Alaska drivers can be pretty aggressive, so he tried to get across as quickly as possible. Medford has crosswalks all over town and drivers stop, Faucher said.
If drivers don't stop?
"They get a ticket. They have sting operations," Faucher said.
Robl said police aren't ready to do focused enforcement at crosswalks. Wrede said he's had discussions with police about enforcement and education, but they haven't come up with a plan. When all the crosswalks are in, Robl said that will be the time to focus on education and enforcement.
"We need to get a message out to drivers that the crosswalks are in place," Robl said, referring to the Pioneer Avenue crosswalks. "Drivers need to yield to pedestrians."
Pedestrians need to be aware, too, Robl said.
"Both have to be thinking a little bit," he said. "I'm concerned about the safety factors until everyone's educated and familiar with them."
Poore agreed that education is needed, with everyone city, police and the community working together. Safe crosswalk use is a matter of awareness and pedestrian rights.
"There are cities that have made it a point that pedestrians have the right of way," Poore said. "We live in a state and community where cars have ruled. It's going to take an effort to turn that around."
Getting people to use crosswalks safely and to respect pedestrians could also be helped if Homer were a more walker friendly town, Poore said
"The more people we can get walking that will make a difference," she said.
Michael Armstrong can be reached at michael.armstrong@homernews.com.
Since last August, the city has painted more permanent crosswalks on Pioneer Avenue. The state should have crosswalks installed by the end of September, said Homer City Manager Walt Wrede not soon enough for Poore, however.
With clearly marked crosswalks on Pioneer Avenue, and plans proceeding for crosswalks on the highway and the Homer Spit, how has the public reaction been?
We encourage you to add your comments. To prevent spam, comments with links are manually approved during the normal business day. Please be respectful of others with your comments, bear in mind anyone in the community may be reading your comments.
