A pedestrian was hit and killed on Saturday night marking the 10th pedestrian killed in Tucson this year.
The 47-year-old man was crossing Grant at North Avenida El Capitan, which is between 4th and 3rd Avenues.
According to a Tucson Police Department release the pedestrian, who has not been identified publicly, was crossing the street when a Toyota Tacoma traveling east on Grant Road struck him.
According to TPD, the pedestrian was not in a crosswalk when he was struck.
The death marks the 10th pedestrian killed inside the Tucson city limits this year. Last year at this time there were three pedestrian deaths.
So, I am inferring that the imaginary crosswalks do not exist at ‘T’ intersections like they do at unmarked crossroad intersections. The victim would have had to walk 150 feet or so to the west to be protected.
Is there no hope in reducing pedestrian deaths in this city?
@zz There is: Don’t step into the road with cars coming. I learned that when I was 5.
Hmm, from the description it is hard to determine whether or not the pedestrian was in the “unmarked” crosswalk. According to my understanding of the ARS, the crosswalk appears to exist at both T and cross type of intersections, however, I am not a lawyer.
It seems that comments in the Daily Star give the impression that a pedestrian should simply walk to the nearest crosswalk and cross there rather than saying that if a pedestrian is in the roadway, the roadway user (bicyclists included) need to stop for them. In some cases, that nearest crossing may be 1/4 of a mile away. If you want to simply get across the street, you’d have to walk an additional 1/2 mile. We don’t ask other modes to do this, why do we expect it from pedestrians?
There is a massive amount of pedestrian traffic, mostly jay walking, in this area. It’s people coming and going from the Fry’s shopping center. There need to be more crossing options along this corridor.
DanielStolte alternatively not ringing the city with rivers of cars would work too.
@Orvis DanielStolte The reason I don’t like the change made to the ‘Loop’ paths a few years ago is that it allows the pedestrians to be oblivious to the bikes. When they walked facing ‘wheeled’ users, they had to react – be a part of the traffic that happens there. The change reinforces that behavior and sense that pedestrians need not be engaged – a major contributing factor in these fatalities on the road, I suspect.