By Paula Scott
If you walk in Bluffton on a regular basis—whether you are getting from one place to another or are walking for your health—you’ve probably been both frightened and mad. Frightened by drivers who don’t even glance your way. Mad if you know that state law requires drivers to yield to pedestrians.
Students who cross Main St. at College Ave. have it particularly bad. Our usually quiet Main St. can go bonkers between 3:00 and 3:30 p.m. on school days. Student drivers, parents who pick up children, school buses, employees leaving first shift work, and people going about their everyday business create a Bluffton-style traffic jam.
At this time of the day, drivers in the lane closest to the high school are more likely to stop for students, but that doesn’t do much good when drivers from the opposite direction blatantly ignore pedestrians.
I’m a walker and a parent. A few years ago, I became sensitized to the issue of pedestrian safety when a friend was struck by a car. Her leg was crushed, leading to many surgeries and months of recovery in a nursing home. Another friend had her baby’s stroller pushed by a student driver. Drivers ignoring pedestrians now seem much more threatening to me.
The intersection of College and Main used to have a traffic signal. It was removed in 2009 after the state conducted an engineering study showing low vehicle and pedestrian volumes. We’ve since had multiple counts that show traffic doesn’t come close to qualifying, even when school zone requirements are applied. The idea is that when traffic flows more freely there will be fewer accidents.
The organizations directly involved in the resulting safety issues are the Village of Bluffton, the Bluffton police department, the Bluffton Exempted Village School District, the Lima-Allen County Regional Planning Commission and the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT). I’ve communicated with all of these organizations, as well as State Representative Bob Cupp, over the past two years. Last fall, I joined with some thirty individuals who spoke to the village council about the need for better safety measures at College and Main.
To date, the crosswalk markings have been repainted, on-street parking spots have been eliminated to improve visibility and new signs have been posted indicating where drivers should yield to pedestrians. Last year, an educational assembly was held for early elementary students.
My unofficial monitoring finds that most drivers still do not yield to pedestrians at this location. So, I decided to protest. I bought two 18-inch foam hands in bright yellow. I made a vivid sign showing that STATE LAW requires drivers to yield to pedestrians IN XWALK. On the first day of school, August 30, I unveiled my best sign-spinning moves—you know, like those folks who advertise for tax preparation in Findlay.
And, boy, did my waving, clapping, eye shading and pointing on the street corner in front of the gas station have an effect! Most cars in both directions stopped for students. It was probably a good approximation of what it would be like to have a crossing guard.
The bad news: there was a traffic jam for about 20 minutes. Stopping for pedestrians had a major impact on traffic flow. To my horror, some drivers on College took the opportunity to cross by gunning their engines. An observer complained about my presence to the Bluffton police, who came to find out if I was in the street directing traffic. “Who organized this?” they asked. “Just me,” I responded. I showed them the spot where I had been.
Now what? Regional news shows that other communities are struggling with similar issues. Pedestrian fatalities in Ohio have increased dramatically in recent years. In a one-month period this summer, 14 pedestrians were killed in Ohio, according to ODOT.
Solutions to our traffic congestion and pedestrian safety issues probably won’t be easy or obvious. A new traffic signal? That will require some major agitation and negotiation. A crossing guard? That’s often the responsibility of the schools or local government, which are firmly entrenched in budget-cutting modes. Staggered student release times, student and parent parking restrictions or assignments, shift worker re-routing and other strategies could have a positive impact.
Change such as this requires community involvement on many levels. If this issue is important you, speak up. We all need to share the road. And we all need to shoulder some of the responsibility for making effective improvements.
