I've never been caught by this stunt before. An intersection I negotiate daily is a bit weird in
that it's off-set by about 50m (~150'😉. The east-west residential street forms two tee-intersections
with the six lane major north-south cross street. (67th & Granville to locals)
Westbound there's a stop sign. There's a stop sign and signalled pedestrian crosswalk further south
at the east bound junction. With a liquor store, supermarket and several small shops with parking
lots off the back-lane, it's a busy location that goes nuts at rush hour
Going west usually involves waiting for the ped light to stop the north-south traffic and
negotiating with south bound drivers piddling to the stop. That requires paying very close attention
to what's eastbound and which way they're turning because you're hanging your butt out in a bad spot
if they're turning left. Bad-bad if there's southbound buses stopping at the light.
I was westbound last night and there was left turning eastbound traffic waiting for a pedestrian.
I'm out crossing the north bound lanes signalling to the south bound car that would be about fifth
in line at the light that I was crossing in front of them to the next south bound lane. I was
checking the timing of the pedestrians holding the turning cars when I was surprised by a pair of
headlights coming on a collision course. The second-in-line southbound car, that had been stopped at
the light, suddenly decided to make a U-turn. I'm glad he hit the brakes and straightened it out
when he did because there was no place for me to go except into the side of the moving SUV I'd
planned to go behind.
Other anticipated quirks at this corner are cars leaving a parking lot that's between the ped-xing
and the corner. Gotta watch for southbound cars turning left into that parking lot or onto the
street I'm trying to exit. I've danced with 'em using the northbound lanes to pull that stunt. Bad-
bad sight lines if there's a bus at its stop.
Of course, the folksy way to cross is to go on the sidewalk to the pedestrian signal. Other than
that, I don't know how to avoid what almost happened last night.
(fixed pitch font - not to scale)
| |
| |
| ^ |
| |
________| |______________________________________
: : : :
: : ^ : : < <
------------------------------------------------------------------
: : : : ^
------------------------------------------------------------------
: : : : /? ^
=========================\============================>North
: : : : \ ^
-----------------------------\----/!------------------------------
: : : : / ^
-------------------------------------------------------------------
: : : : ^
________ped-x__________driveway__ ________bus stop___
| ^ | me |
| |
| |
| |
--
zk