By Lisette Mejia, Fox News
On the fourth of September, I walked from the next-door business to the major supermarket where I buy many of my essentials— fresh produce, packaged food, groceries, household items, over twenty beauty products, gum, honey, and chips.
This time, I walked alone.
When I arrived, I was greeted by the yellow crosswalk signs that warn all drivers of the crosswalk’s time as well as it’s proximity to the next and in the distance, the large mailbox. An empty parking space to the left of the crosswalk indicated a nearby shop.
The crosswalk allows you to walk to the store but warns drivers to slow down if you don’t see or see too late that the store is coming.
The sign says three crosswalks; two on East 31st Street and one on East Federal Street. It is clear that the third crosswalk does not exist. However, no one— both drivers and pedestrians— knows which one is the “other” because the sidewalk abruptly ends with no warning— right where pedestrians need it most.
This is the third time I have been this close to the store but the first time I have seen no sign indicating which sidewalk is the second one.
I did try the California Handsfree Walk Sign but guess what, that did not stop the drivers.
I do walk through the store all the time, always trying to look ahead, but it does not help me where there are no crosswalks. You can observe many crosswalks especially when they are blocked by signs or barriers, but when they are not obstructing traffic, there are just no crosswalks.
In 2015, driver John Berardelli, found a lack of crosswalks a regular occurrence in Sacramento.
He took it up to Mayor Kevin Johnson, and he put a crosswalk by his grocery store where there are no others.
Because of Berardelli’s effort, the crosswalk was finally built in 2013. This, according to Councilwoman Sandy Nakadate, was due to her being a pedestrian safety advocate.
Nakadate told FOX40 that Berardelli “definitely changed my life,” and added, “we have more than 11,000 resident walkers walking through, that is a dangerous time.”
I would say as an adult, not only do the other crosswalks have enough information about the distance of the crosswalk, but I do cross the street and walk down the street to the store every day— yet I feel unsafe if I am alone.
Have there been any discussions about a crosswalk? According to Nakadate, no.
“There’s no building owner. It’s the city. We are working on it. It’s a fund in funding from the state; $75,000. We want to get some of the city money, and come back.”
I walked all around the city, but nowhere was I able to get a fair assessment of what distance would be a safe distance from the supermarket for pedestrians and drivers. It’s clearly a popular place to shop, but there is no system in place to insure it is a safe place to walk.
Lisette Mejia is the CEO of Multiple Lives Media Inc. She is a mother of five and wife to a private detective. Read more about her website at http://www.100000Sunlights.com/