Serving proudly since 1873 as the beautiful Nebraska Panhandle's first newspaper

A lesson we should already know

Living in the big city of Denver, crossing main streets was always an adventure. You never knew if an innattentive driver would plow through an intersection and mow you down—and if you watch news from that town, you know it happens far too often.

Once I was crossing at Alameda Ave. close to Wadsworth Blvd., my bike all lit up. You should never ride without some kind of reflection, certainty not after the sun goes down. I entered with the light in my favor when a black Cadillac bore down at me. I watched as it blew through one red light and continued, pointing right at me. I was able to dive out of the way, but fear raced through my body and mind. For a second I was certain that was the last time ever for a short ride to the store.

I reported it, but what could the police do?

You would think living in a smaller town like Sidney that there be no such problems. But I was sitting at my desk one day when a concerned citizen called about foot traffic across Illinois St.

Apparently they had just witnessed the travails of a family hoping to cross at 12th Ave. With the construction at 13th Ave., traffic at certain times of the day can back up. This causes a long string of vehicles, with few breaks—and a predicament for a family trapped on a corner, with no driver willing to let them pass. Several paused in the crosswalk, waiting to make a turn.

This seems like an unnecessary statement, but drivers should pay attention to their surroundings. Yeah, I know—you have to make that next light because it will never turn green again.

Nebraska law gives right a way to any person using a crosswalk. Of course, that rule is amended by an understanding that pedestrians cannot simply barge out in front of a moving car that has closed on the intersection. But there is no need for impatience when those walking do things right.

This family was finally able to have a go at the crosswalk. The light turned against them before they completed the trek, however, and a driver—apparently threatened by their slow passage—pounded his horn at them.

This is one of my pet peeves: people who know their time is more valuable than the next person's.

A few seconds is all you usually save when you rush through intersections and jump in and out of traffic—a few seconds.

The sad part? The family trying to cross Illinois was visiting, looking for a place to eat. I wonder what they think of the fair city of Sidney and their venture downtown after an earlier stop up on the hill at Cabela's?

 

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