The other day, I was looking at the crosswalk more closely, and I realized why it is so difficult to cross there.
1) The crosswalk is painted where the driveway comes out! That's right, if you are standing in the crosswalk on the driveway side, you are standing directly in the way of cars both coming and going (and usually there's not enough room for two cars and someone has to back up, also potentially flattening pedestrians). Or if you are crossing towards the driveway, you are walking right into the path of a car. See that silver car pulling out?
2) As pictured above, you have to compete with cars, buses, and trams.3) Not only is one end of the crosswalk a driveway, but the other end overlaps with a bus stop. So if you are trying to cross the street from the bus side, like this brave soul pictured below (small dark figure), you might get run over by a bus!
4) Going partway doesn't work either. This pedestrian has to stop and wait since blue car decided to go ahead and make a left turn. He might be okay standing in the center. Maybe there won't be any trams for a few minutes. But there's always a wise guy who gets impatient and decides to zoom down the center aisle. Or someone pulling a u-turn. Anything's possible.
The other crosswalk on my block is at the intersection near the metro station. That one is even more dangerous. A red light doesn't mean anything, except that it's a chance for some cars to turn while the others are stopped. They turn left and right on a red light. And they don't care who's in their way.
My mother always told me, "We can get a new ball (doll/bicycle/etc.), but we can't get a new Elizabeth." Along those lines, I would rather be late than risk getting flattened. I'll wait 5-10 minutes to cross the street if that's what it takes.
Moral of the story:
I bet your mother is REALLY happy that you learned that lesson well. I bet she STILL would rather lose someTHING than her daughter...
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