Letters

In your recent article about crosswalk safety you repeat a widespread mis conception. You state that a motorist must stop for pedestrians who are approaching the curb. This misrepresents the ordinance, which requires motorists to stop for pedestrians who are ready and waiting to cross the street, i.e., those who are stopped at the curb. Many people seem to be under a misapprehension about this difference. As a result there are crosswalks, e. g., on North U,, where motorists are frequently forced to stop for considerable stretches of time when a continuous stream of pedestrians approaches the crosswalk, some of whom were quite distant from the curb at the time when the motorist arrived there. To put it simply, pedestrians must yield to any car that is already stopped at the crosswalk when they get there, and motorists must stop for any pedestrian who was standing at the curb and waiting to cross before they get there.