Date: Fri 30-Oct-1998

Publication: Bee

Author: ANDYG

Quick Words:

police-crosswalk-crackdown

Full Text:

Police Mount A Crosswalk Crackdown On Main St.

(with photos)

BY ANDREW GOROSKO

A detail of town police officers reported to Main Street the morning of

October 23 where they focused on motorists' violations of the state law

requiring drivers to yield to pedestrians who are in crosswalks.

Plainclothes Officer Joseph Joudy repeatedly crossed Main Street in the

crosswalk near Edmond Town Hall, testing whether oncoming motorists would

yield for him.

Many motorists stopped.

Some did not.

Those who didn't stop were pursued by officers waiting in marked cars to

enforce the crosswalk violations.

Although traffic signs along Main Street state motorists must yield to

pedestrians who are in crosswalks, the road is so wide near Town Hall, it is

thought that motorists may not see those signs when approaching the congested

area.

Police handed out about 10 tickets to motorists violating the crosswalk law.

Motorists who received the $78 tickets can either mail in the fine to court,

or appeal the charge.

The stepped-up enforcement program comes following the recent death of Wolcott

Toll.

Mr Toll, 78, of 4 Pocono Road, Hawleyville, while walking across Main Street

at about 9:10 pm October 15, was struck by a 1993 Cadillac DeVille, driven

northbound by motorist Allen Storch, 77, of 39 The Boulevard. Police have said

Mr Toll was not in the crosswalk while crossing the street.

Mr Toll received extensive injuries and died the next morning in Danbury

Hospital. The accident is under investigation.

Police Chief James E. Lysaght, Jr, said Wednesday he will seek Police

Commission support for a series of recommendations intended to promote

pedestrian safety along Main Street between Edmond Town Hall and Booth

Library. The Police Commission is the town's traffic authority.

Chief Lysaght said he will recommend that certain parallel parking

restrictions be created on both sides of Main Street to improve pedestrian

safety.

Also, Chief Lysaght said he will seek Police Commission approval to have

highly visible, weighted, portable plastic barrels placed in the center of

Main Street near Edmond Town Hall and Booth Library. The barrels would bear

signs explaining that motorists must yield to pedestrians in crosswalks.

Drivers and pedestrians must share the responsibilities of traffic safety, he

said. While motorists must yield to pedestrians in crosswalks, pedestrians

must use crosswalks with common sense and care, he said.

Any concerns about the aesthetics of high-visibility safety barrels in the

Borough Historic District are outweighed by traffic safety concerns, Chief

Lysaght said.

Traffic accidents are the most serious physical dangers that many residents

face, he said.