Readers offer ideas to make Honolulu streets safer for pedestrians

2018 has been a particularly deadly year for Honolulu pedestrians, with 26 fatalities so far — the highest toll in more than a decade. In our “Hazardous Crossing” special report on pedestrian safety Nov. 4, we asked readers to write in with their suggestions and comments. Here are some of the responses, which have been edited for length and clarity.

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Our crosswalks now, which are white stripes on black pavement, do not call attention to themselves, and drivers can be somewhat oblivious to them. However, colored sidewalks would be likely to catch drivers’ attention. Many cities have adopted this approach.

Nobody wants to hurt anybody on the roads, and nobody wants to get hurt. Just telling pedestrians and drivers to pay better attention doesn’t seem like enough. We need colored crosswalks as a solution here on Oahu, especially on multilane roads like the Pali in Nuuanu. We could try it as an experiment.

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What about the situation where there are multiple lanes going in the same direction? There are no traffic signals, just a marked crosswalk, as on Pali Highway in Nuuanu or on South King Street in McCully/Moiliili. The car in the left lane stops for a pedestrian approaching from the left. However, the cars in the middle and right lanes do not stop. I have encountered that heart-stopping moment both as a pedestrian and a driver.

As a driver, it is not always easy to watch out for everything in the roadways, especially on busy streets when trying to navigate a left turn into opposing traffic in addition to pedestrians and bicyclists crossing the street. As an older driver, driving at night is more difficult because our eyes cannot see as well as driving in the day. So as a pedestrian, I make sure I not only look both ways when crossing, but also look forward and back to make sure no vehicles are making a turn into my direction.

I also wear bright clothing at night and/or safety vests with reflective strips because I know older drivers like me are out driving who have a harder time seeing pedestrians at dusk, dawn or night … .

I am both a driver and pedestrian. I obey traffic signals and have still seen both drivers and pedestrians haphazardly crossing intersections and crosswalks without looking.

There used to be some traffic signals that “chirped or beeped” to signal to sightless pedestrians that it’s OK to cross. I think this would be good for all intersections … as many ignorant pedestrians still use their cellphones and don’t look up at “the red hand” or the “white crossing figure” on the signal box. They also fail to grasp the countdown on these boxes as well; some give ample 20-plus seconds, some considerably less.

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I got run over in the crosswalk of Waialae Avenue and Saint Louis Drive in Kaimuki in 2003. I recovered, but since then, I’ve been crossing the street using a plastic-enclosed printout of a stop sign from an HMSA article. I try to make sure the cars see the sign (a similar principle to using those red crossing flags, but, I think, more effective).

If the drivers don’t seem to be slowing down or tend to “slide” through the intersection as they are wont to do, I’ll start yelling at the cars that they need to “STOP.” The yelling usually shocks the drivers into paying attention, but sometimes, and shamefully, some drivers yell back at me to “hurry up.”

Wrong attitude for someone driving a several-ton vehicle!

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Just “Walk” and “Don’t Walk” needed. Eliminate all other signals — red hand, blinking countdown numbers. Most people think countdown means that many seconds left to cross.

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Get rid of countdown timer on walk lights. It serves no purpose. It misleads pedestrians into thinking they have time to make it across street. It tempts drivers into thinking they can make it through the light.

Before I retired as an insurance safety professional, I used to conduct driver safety training classes for commercial drivers and shared with them a few safe driving tips to promote safe driving in the streets on Oahu:

>> When driving on King Street near the McCully and Moiliili areas that are heavily populated with elderly residents and you see a bus or large truck obstructing your view and stopped in front of a pedestrian crosswalk that does not have a “Walk” light, anticipate that a pedestrian may be in the crosswalk. Slow down and prepare to stop. Cover the brake with your foot to reduce your reaction time. Stop if you see a pedestrian running on the far side of the crosswalk to catch the bus stopped at the bus stop.

>> Besides checking for an opening in traffic before driving out of a driveway onto a one-way street with traffic approaching on your left, be sure to check for people walking, joggers running, bikers riding on the sidewalk on your right.

>> If driving down Mooheau Avenue in Kapahulu and you are stopped at the intersection of Mooheau Avenue, Kapahulu Avenue and Date Street and there is a bus or large truck obstructing your view and waiting to turn left onto Kapahulu Avenue, be sure to pause for a couple of seconds before proceeding onto Date Street or turning right onto Kapahulu Avenue when the traffic light turns green, as there may be pedestrians running in the crosswalk or bikers riding on the street against the red light.

>> Pedestrians need to be more visible to drivers at night by wearing light- or florescent-colored clothing, by carrying or wearing blinking, colored flashlights, and walking on the side of the street against traffic.

Here are some suggestions for walking across a street:

>> Stand away from the curb until it is safe to cross the street.

>> Be aware of your surroundings. Make sure there is no vehicle, bicycle, person or obstacle that would prevent you from making it safely across the street. Look to the left, right, front, and back of you. (The reason for looking behind you is that some drivers turn toward you from behind.)

>> Be sure that each lane that you are about to cross has no vehicles approaching that would hinder your crossing. Just because you are crossing a street does not make you safe. Cars may stop for you but the next lane may have a driver that is unaware that you are crossing the street.

>> Be ready to attract the attention of the driver to stop by being ready to yell/scream/blow whistle and wave/jump for the driver to stop. How about coming up with a lightweight portable device that when activated does the following: red and white lights flashing the message “STOP!” and an alarm that goes off or in a very loud voice says “STOP!”

>> Dilemma: One waits while a vehicle is approaching an intersection. After the vehicle has passed, one is ready to enter the intersection. However, the light is flashing “Don’t Walk.” One has to wait until the next cycle, which is over four minutes at some intersections. Ideally, there should be at least five seconds before a light flashes “Don’t Walk.”

>> There could be more intersections with all-directions stoplights for pedestrians, such as at Kekaulike and King streets in Chinatown.