When the police are bad, or at least unruly, we haven't hesitated to call your attention to their misdeeds in this space. But I like to think we've passed out a few compliments to the boys and girls in blue when that's what was deserved, too. But today, it's a note on the positive side.
Barbara Gray, of the city's Department of Transportation, has told The Seattle Times that the Seattle Police Department is sending more officers, as pedestrian decoys, into city crosswalks this year, to try and put the brakes on drivers who speed through crosswalks without stopping.
According to Gray, who is project manager for the city's new Pedestrian Master Plan, cops are planning 10 sting operations in 2009, an increase from previous years. This is a police operation that is long overdue. Columns I've written about the lack of pedestrian safety in Queen Anne, even inside crosswalks, always garner more response than anything else I do. It is a hot-button issue for many of you who have shared your, "Almost got run over," and sadly, occasionally, did get run over," stories with me.
There were 468 car-pedestrian accidents in 2008, just inside city limits. Seattle City Council started heeding calls on this issue after a council aide, Tatsuo Nakata, was killed trying to cross Southwest Admiral Way in 2007, and then councilmember Nick Licata's stepson was badly hurt crossing North 85th Street.
According to The Seattle Times, one driver caught in the April 24 sting, run at Stone Way North and North 41st Street, is already appealing his ticket. He's lucky I'm not the judge. People endangering the rest of us by cavalierly flying around behind the wheel, while their mouth and hands are engaged with cell phones and lattes, are as much of a problem as stickup men, and more of a problem than say streetwalkers.
I believe folks who willfully run red lights, green walk lights and crosswalks with people in them, are criminals and should do time-not get citations they can appeal. My only other quibble with this operation is that the cops are only running 10 - that's one every 36 days. They should reverse that and do one every 10 days. The people in the crosswalks are your kids, grandmas, coworkers and possibly future friends. Watch out for them. Driving should be a privilege, not a right.
• When so many folks can't seem to be bothered about driving safely and not hitting citizens who often look just like them, it's no surprise that despite legislation and some well-meaning organizations, Seattle still hasn't gotten a real handle on its homeless problem.
Ever since the sun started peeking through the clouds, I've noticed many more homeless folks during my perambulations around Lower Queen Anne. The familiar faces have been joined by a whole new crew.
Helping the homeless is a hard sell for some folks. Often the street folks are intoxicated early in the day; some are rude and vocal; some do things in plain view best saved for the privacy of your bedroom or bathroom. It's easy to forget these folks don't have bedrooms or bathrooms.
There are an estimated 8,300 homeless people on Seattle streets any given night. According to county officials, approximately 38 percent of the folks camped in alleys and on sidewalks suffer from some form of mental illness.
Many of them are working but still can't make enough to get even a small place, what with pathetic wages and exorbitant (to them, at least) rents. During King County's 2008 One Night Count (and survey) 20 percent of the homeless encountered reported paid employment as their largest source of income, which means one in five of the homeless are not jobless.
There are no easy answers to this problem. Some of the homeless strangely seek their condition.
Some, because of addictions or illness, are unable to get themselves off the streets. But there must be something we as a society can do to help at least the one in five who are working and still have to live in the raw. In just the last year, Seattle has experienced a 15-percent rise in homelessness.
Even from a selfish perspective - cleaner, safer streets for the rest of us - this is unacceptable. Morally, it is incomprehensible that such a rich, supposedly great city allows this. Something must be done. Start by calling your councilmembers and mayor. Complain.[[In-content Ad]]
