I'm glad to stop for pedestrians who are obvious waiting to cross the street at an intersection. However, sometimes people are standing there but apparently preoccupied momentarily with something else. Are they going to cross now, or 30 seconds later? Or someone approaches on the sidewalk from a cross street. Will they continue across, or turn the corner? What about people who cross in the middle of the street?

I can appreciate that some pedestrian may become frustrated waiting to cross at an intersection when the traffic is heavy. But this new law has added more confusion to a complicated interaction between autos and pedestrians.

Many pedestrians have never or seldom driven and cannot understand what it is like to worry about hitting a jaywalker, and many drivers have been insulated for so many years that they have no idea what its like to try to take a walk and fear for your life. The lifestyles - cultures, even, are completely opposing in their native assumptions. Walking is safer, healthier, and more energy efficient though, so I think the city's priorities are on track.

I am glad to see that more emphasis is being given to pedestrian safety. I have noticed a big difference in "pedestrian-savvy(ness)" between Portland and Salem. Drivers here are downright hostile toward pedestrians. I had a different experience in Portland. However, I think drivers are more courteous toward other cars down here - just not peds. or bicyclists.

GT: Portland used to be much more hostile than it is now, I think. Many of the unlighted crosswalks in town were routinely ignored until recently --for instance, the ones crossing Burnside at the Park Blocks.

My opinion is that the change has come, in large part, from pedestrians being more assertive.

It certainly hasn't come from any sort of effort to enforce the law. (Oh right, there was that "pilot program" a couple of years ago.)

I'd bet $10 no one here can produce a single ticket given by the City of Portland to a motorist for failure to yield to a pedestrian in a crosswalk. It simply has never happened, because our "community" police can't be bothered to get out of their cruisers, even when violations happen 20 feet away from them.

John

Ron, I agree with your comments above very much. If a pedestrian makes it obvious they're trying to cross, I can give them 20 seconds of my time and stop for them. If they're standing 4 feet back from the corner talking on a cell phone, how should I know they're about to cross?

The other problem I see for pedestrians is when TriMet puts a bus stop so close to an intersection that drivers can have difficulty telling if people are waiting for the bus or to cross the street.

When I'm walking, I always try to make eye contact with the driver on the near side of the street and politely wave. It's incredibly rare that someone doesn't let me cross if I do so. Once one side of the road is stopped, the other usually gets the idea as well.