Walk at Your Own Risk

So far this year it seems like it's open season on pedestrians in Toronto. I'm not laying blame on any one place here, since many factors come into play, but here's my breakdown.

Drivers:
SLOW DOWN! REMOVE THINE LEADEN FOOT FROM THINE GAS PEDAL! Watch where you're driving. No put down the coffee, the cell phone, makeup, toothbrush, and stop steering with your knees! Get up earlier, get ready at home then drive. Or, take the TTC, where you can get ready while someone else drives you. See that light? It's Red. Red means "you stay put." Turn right if allowed and the area is clear. Look many times to make sure the way is clear. If you're not sure, STAY! TTC Drivers, same thing. Yes, I know you have a schedule to keep. But guess what? Hitting someone puts you further behind than if you were patient.

Pedestrians:
Ok...two simple words: PAY ATTENTION!  Know your surroundings. You see those big, noisy metal things? They're vehicles. You get hurt when you get hit by one. When you come to the corner or the crosswalk, stop texting, tweeting, playing around on the ipod while listening to music and LOOK AROUND YOU. The little white man is up? Ok, walk. Make sure there's no idiots trying to turn right and walk. The little hand is up? SIT UBU, SIT. Cross at the designated areas. Playing Frogger is nice, but you don't get three lives. You're one and done.

The City:
I know you're trying to help the flow of traffic. Since people are being stubborn about liking to be able to go where they want, you need to work on the system. Having the dedicated crossing as some corners is good. Add it to all the heavy use crosswalks. Synchronize the stoplights. If it's even done only on the main corridors. Something so that people don't feel like they're crawling. Extend some of the crosswalk times. 10 years ago I almost got hit crossing at a crosswalk. When I started: green, halfway through: red with traffic turning at me. NOT COOL!

Of course, these are just some quick and dirty ideas. I'm not a city planner. What do I know about the topic?

It would be nice to open the paper in the morning and not see a story about a pedestrian getting hit.