It's good to read on the Valley Record's front page that King County sheriff's deputies will be cracking down on motorists who charge through crosswalks while pedestrians are still trying to make their way across the street. If only the "Walk" signs would remain on longer to accommodate some of those folks, and if only some pedestrians on the corners with crosswalks would only would make up their minds to actually cross when traffic has stopped - and add a little hustle once they've made their move.

Now, I hope law enforcement will pursue, with equal zeal and maybe even a bit of ruthlessness, the jaywalkers who constantly dart across North Bend Way along the two city blocks between North Bend Boulevard and Ballarat, particularly those coming and going from the bicycle shop and bakery. These boneheads need an object lesson in actually using crosswalks. Being too lazy to stroll down to the nearest intersection to use a crosswalk should earn these people the citations they so richly deserve. It might just save somebody's life.

And while we're on that subject, perhaps our good friends with the Snoqualmie Police Department might exercise some of the same enforcement on jaywalkers crossing Railroad Avenue/State Route 202.

More than once I've had to slam on the brakes, or have seen someone else do it, because some idiot dashed out in front of traffic from concealment between parked cars, carrying coffee and donuts. It seems to get worse in the heat of summer and the height of ski season. Even at 20 or 25 mph, in a collision between a car and jaywalking pedestrian, the jaywalker is invariably the loser.

Dave Workman

North Bend

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