From the Downtown Partnership –
This will probably come as a shock to many drivers, but pedestrians rule under Maryland law, at least when it comes to crosswalks. By statute, drivers must stop for pedestrians in crosswalks and a new initiative from Mayor Dixon is helping remind motorists exactly who has the right of way.
Bright green signs have been cropping up at pedestrian crossings across Downtown, particularly those that occur mid-block where drivers don
Right-of-way or not, car drivers in Baltimore are often trying to compensate for their own lateness and trying to find their destinations.
One-way streets have their place, but when drivers get lost and cannot even go where they need to then the one way streets mess up traffic even though the one way street was initially meant to help traffic flow.
Pedestrians aren’t always a joy either. Crossing against a light and walking at a snails pace cause more traffic backup in their wake. Pedestrian bridges in heavily walked areas would help. Skyways (second floor corridors between buildings) are a welcome change to urban workers who walk within downtown during lunchtime. More of those would be nice, and they can house businesses as well.
The car may look like the enemy, but the driver can often be your friend. Make eye contact, smile (even a forced smile is better than a sincere grimace) and wave politely. Most drivers are nice and want to be nice. And it may be someone you know.
Helping with directions or pointing out a parking spot (you DO want the car to park, don’t you 🙂 ) can make a cyclist or a pedestrian look like a great person to a driver. Isn’t that the kind of image that we all want?