The peril pedestrians face crossing Oahu streets, even those walking in marked crosswalks, is well documented. Less obvious, though, are the comprehensive solutions necessary to permanently lower Honolulu’s rate of pedestrian fatalities, a rate that has risen markedly since 2012.
It’s safe to say that a large measure of responsibility rests with motorists. They are the ones wielding deadly weapons. A moment of inattention or impatience on their part, and someone could die.
That’s not to say that pedestrians are blameless; some are not, jaywalking, darting into the street from between parked cars and wearing dark clothing that makes them practically invisible at night.
Still, any pedestrian is at a grave disadvantage in the battle between man and machine that marks Honolulu’s busiest intersections, and they should not be expected to pay for their mistakes with their lives.
If only drivers would concentrate continuously and safely on the task at hand — not rushing, not texting, not talking on the cell phone — everyone sharing Oahu’s roads would be safer.
At any rate, at least four of the Oahu pedestrians killed by vehicles so far this year were in marked crosswalks when they were struck, absolving them of reckless conduct.
That number includes the most recent victim, 86-year-old Wilkie Lin, who died after being hit by a moped Tuesday as he tried to cross South King Street near Poha Lane, near the McCully-Moiliili Public Library.
Police said Lin was halfway across the five-lane street when a moped crashed into him, propelling him from the crosswalk and inflicting fatal head injuries; the 39-year-old moped driver suffered minor injuries.
Neither excessive speed nor alcohol appeared to be factors in the daytime crash; a witness reported the moped driver told police he just didn’t see Lin.
Another 86-year-old pedestrian was killed only blocks away in April; Elsie Cabanatan was walking on the sidewalk at South King Street near Wiliwili Street when she was fatally struck.
Lin was the 13th pedestrian killed on the island this year, a fatality rate only slightly better than the 15 pedestrian deaths counted at this time last year — this despite a big push among police, safety advocates, policymakers, the media and others to shine a glaring spotlight on the issue and forge lasting improvements. Twenty-five pedestrians died on Oahu in all of 2014, up from 19 in 2013 and 16 in 2012.
In the wake of Lin’s death, as after fatal crashes in other neighborhoods, area residents are rightly calling for action. Safety upgrades are needed on King Street, a busy five-lane, one-way thoroughfare made more complicated for pedestrian crossings, in some respects, with the recent dedication of one lane solely for the use of bicyclists.
The solution is not to remove the cycle track, nor to remove all crosswalks except those that already exist at intersections with traffic lights; that will force elderly residents to walk farther than they should have to. A better idea is to install a traffic light, or at least a flashing light, at the crosswalk near Poha Street to slow traffic and remind drivers to be alert.
The best idea, and one that could take effect today, at no cost to taxpayers, is for motorists to replace the inattention, indifference and sometimes outright hostility they display for pedestrians — even elderly ones — with a dose of patience for folks who are simply trying to cross the street.
Accidents that easily could have been prevented are not accidents at all. They are crashes costing too many lives on Oahu.
