City Hopes For Better Pedestrian Safety With Flag System

December 9, 2011 10:50 AM

Pedestrians brave a downtown crosswalk that is supposed to give them the right of way. (CBS)

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Heard on WBBM 780, Local, News, Syndicated Local

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CHICAGO (CBS) — The City of Chicago is hoping to improve pedestrian safety at certain unprotected street crossings with brightly-colored flags that people can use to be sure cars know they are there.

As WBBM Newsradio’s Mike Krauser reports, the flags are in what basically amount to buckets hanging from streetlight poles on either side of the street.

LISTEN: WBBM Newsradio’s Mike Krauser reports

Pedestrians can take one of the several orange flags from a bucket, and wave it as they make their way across the street. At that point, the flags are placed in the identical bucket on the other side of the crossing.

At 64th and Western Avenue Friday morning, there was no one attempting to cross with the flags.

One must also wonder how long the flags will last before someone walks off with them.

Last year, the city says there were more than 3,000 vehicle versus pedestrian incidents, and 32 pedestrians were killed.

City Hopes For Better Pedestrian Safety With Flag System

trish d

This is the worse idea the city has come up with and not to mention how very dangerous it is. The city needs to re-think this one quickly and the person who thought this one up shouldn’t think!
Larry Horse’s Arse Horse’s Arse

Funny how the City is coming up with ways to save money. In the past, they probably would have come up with this idea and then had someone send over about 1,000 people someone knows to be hired to escort people across the street.

Still, this is a stupid idea.
LOTD

Here’s a novel idea – maybe the pedestrians should hang up the phones or stop texting and PAY ATTENTION !!!!??

Jim Hamilton

and beside who wants to handle these thing after a half million people been picking there nose and azzes and then holding these things.

not very sanitary if you ask me

southside

Welcome to Rahm’s Socialist Nanny state
Jim Stevens

You can tape flags all over yourself, but if you don’t look both ways when you cross the street, you might be hit, the same way 32 other people did this year!
Jim Hamilton

Here i go I’m waving my orange flag I’m safe now cars can’t hit me “SPLAT!” shiit I know he saw my orange flag i waved it right at him

Cesspool false sense of security if you ask me
Matthew Brown

I give the supply of flags 2 hours before they’re all gone. The buckets, maybe 2 days. Who thinks of asinine things like this?
J-FLED

Is there an option to use a WHITE flag?