Ann Arbor police need to ticket stop sign runners at downtown intersection
Editor’s note: The following letter was addressed to Ann Arbor Police Chief Barnett Jones.
This morning, for the second time in a week, I was nearly hit while crossing East Liberty Street on foot by a car ignoring the stop sign at East Liberty and Fifth Avenue. These are not the first occasions, nor are they the first times I have seen people ignore the stop sign or go through the intersection when it was not their turn. Stepping off the sidewalk in my neighborhood is a very risky business.
Unless some official action is taken, I have no hope the situation will improve once Fifth Avenue has reopened.
For the safety of citizens on foot, I implore you assign an officer to enforce the traffic rules. I realize your staff is stretched, but I hope it will not take an injury or a fatality to change this situation. Even a periodic presence by the police department might cause motorist to drive more safely. If for no other reason, the city could collect a tidy sum in traffic tickets.
Rev. Alan Gibson
Ann Arbor
Comments
stephen reynolds
Fri, Sep 23, 2011 : 10:21 p.m.
i got one better you should see em fly through the stop sign at overridge and glenwood the kids at the school around the corner thankfully run a little bit faster when crossing that intersection
tim
Mon, Sep 19, 2011 : 2:41 p.m.
If I had a dollar everyone I've seen run red lights in Ann Arbor I'ld be rich. Too many spazo-holics in A2
swcornell
Mon, Sep 19, 2011 : 2:39 p.m.
This problem of running red lights and stop signs is endemic in Ann Arbor. When I moved here from Kalamazoo I rode a motorcycle. After nearly being hit every time I went out, I learned that my green light did not mean I could go. It meant I could wait for the last car to run the red, then I could go! The problem for bicyclists & pedestrians is even greater. Since many drivers in Ann Arbor don't seem to know the state's "Pedestrian right-of-way" laws, Ann Arbor has enacted their own laws! As if this will help educate Ann Arbor's self entitled drivers.
Ron Granger
Mon, Sep 19, 2011 : 2:19 p.m.
Pedestrian safety is a matter of life and death. Police need to keep Ann Arbor a safe place to cross the street, in a crosswalk. There are a lot of pedestrians here - at times it can take minutes to cross a busy intersection. Anyone who knows the area knows to avoid certain intersections at busy pedestrian times. If you want to drive fast without stopping, hit one of the many highways that surround A2.
5c0++ H4d13y
Mon, Sep 19, 2011 : 1:55 p.m.
You mean "5th" and not Fifth, right? The "5th" street on E. Liberty is "5th" and not "Fifth". "Fifth" is on W Liberty.
Machine
Mon, Sep 19, 2011 : 12:27 p.m.
While they are enforcing traffic signs, maybe they could also start enforcing the ordinance against stopping in the middle of an intersection. It states: 6-13. No driver may enter an intersection or marked crosswalk unless there is sufficient space on the other side of the intersection or crosswalk to accommodate the vehicle he is operating without obstructing the passage of other vehicles or pedestrian I can't tell you how many times I've been unable to get from one side of Washington Street to the other because some putz on Main Street has decided to stop in the middle of the intersection when the light changed. I realize staffing is an issue with the police department but for goodness sake, please post somebody downtown during rush hour.
Steve Pepple
Mon, Sep 19, 2011 : 3:04 a.m.
A typo in the editor's note has been corrected.
denise1inaa
Mon, Sep 19, 2011 : 2:58 a.m.
Cops should put a camera on the crossroads of Scio Church & Zeeb Rd . . . I've had OLD & Young women just smile and blow through these cross roads while they are talking on their cell phones. I Hate to be cut off . . . !!! This is Good + fair revenue.
whatsupwithMI
Mon, Sep 19, 2011 : 12:13 a.m.
Amazing that obeying the law and stopping at stop, signs, and maybe even yielding to pedestrians, is held up by a fringe posting cult as some sort of liberal agenda. What would you like the pedestrian who is about to be illegally run over to do? Exercise their right to bear arms?
MRunner73
Sun, Sep 18, 2011 : 11:12 p.m.
I thought that we were all taught in driver's training as well as knowing what the state law states about yielding to pedrestians in a cross walk. I work downtown and I yield to pedrstians in the cross walk. It's that simple. The city would be wise to station more police officers and ticket drivers who violate the law so as the get more revenue. Dowtown Ann Arbor is busy with pedestians, this is not I-94. As for cyclists, they need to ride in the streets and marked bike lanes and also obey the laws. So what's so hard about obeying laws?
KJMClark
Mon, Sep 19, 2011 : 11:57 a.m.
Whatsup - MRunner probably *is* from around here! Shh! Don't scare off the sane locals! We need more reasonable people posting here.
whatsupwithMI
Mon, Sep 19, 2011 : 12:17 a.m.
You are interjecting a rational viewpoint based on data, existing laws, and actual experience into a blog populated by corn-fed midwesterners. You aren't from around here either, are you.
Skyjockey43
Sun, Sep 18, 2011 : 11:54 p.m.
Intersection
Skyjockey43
Sun, Sep 18, 2011 : 11:54 p.m.
Of course! Why didn't I think of this?! All we need to do is divert our limited police resources away from such petty tasks such as finding our home town serial rapist, and reassign them to the REALLY important jobs like crosswalk monitoring, and excessive car idling patrols. Especially when it's much too strenuous for pedestrians to walk a whole block to a signalled
amlive
Sun, Sep 18, 2011 : 10:48 p.m.
AnnArbor.com - this intersection is literally right outside your window. Why don't you put up a webcam so the readers can see what a disorganized mess this is? Surely you all hear the honking several times an hour when cars try to turn the wrong way up Fifth. I've no doubt you see all the people that blow through the stop signs nearly hitting other cars or pedestrians, or hear the rage honking when a red light at Liberty/Fourth blocks up traffic in to the intersection. I know it's only a temporary stop sign, but it seems to be a pretty chaotic and dangerous long term temporary mess. Put up a web cam with sound from your front porch, and see what the commenters blaming pedestrians have to say about it when they see it.
Macabre Sunset
Sun, Sep 18, 2011 : 9:44 p.m.
It's too bad the police can't generate revenue by ticketing sanctimonious letters to the editor. Or egregious grammar errors in notes from the editor. Or any number of other related crimes against sanity.
scott
Mon, Sep 19, 2011 : 2:18 p.m.
I don't know about police involvement, but a down vote would be nice, also +1 to you for egregious being the most impressive word used in a comment thus far.....
2020
Sun, Sep 18, 2011 : 8:54 p.m.
"If for no other reason, the city could collect a tidy sum in traffic tickets". What, now my fellow citizens want the police to write tickets to make money. All of the other blogs I've read in the past were: Damn cops are out there just to generate revenue. The words "Flip Flop" come to mind. Maybe the police aren't there because they were just laid off, and now work for UofM.
smokeblwr
Sun, Sep 18, 2011 : 8:37 p.m.
Maybe all the stop sign running here in Ann Arbor is occurring because citizens are having their second Amendment rights taken away when they are on campus? A stop sign is the perfect place to get carjacked and what with all the new violence here in town (i.e. the tent vandal at Palmer field, the bar fights, and the Wiki-leaks folks defacing the M Barn) why take any chances stopping and giving the "predators" a chance to get you when you are unarmed? Keep the doors and windows locked and keep rolling till you get home to security!
Random Man
Sun, Sep 18, 2011 : 8:18 p.m.
Pedestrians in Ann Arbor would benefit more from a sense of self preservation and use of common sense; rather than a dependence on law enforcement and a sense of entitlement.
Ron Granger
Mon, Sep 19, 2011 : 2:21 p.m.
Speaking of "a sense of entitlement," pedestrians were here first. Streets were created for pedestrians, horses, and bicycles. Cars came much later.
Ron Granger
Mon, Sep 19, 2011 : 2:08 p.m.
We just need people operating heavy machinery (cars) to obey the rule of law and yield to pedestrians.
psaume23
Sun, Sep 18, 2011 : 7:59 p.m.
Good letter. However, there are way more offenses in the city of Detroit, where not only stop signs are disregarded, but red lights are apparently regarded as "stop optional" and yellow lights are construed as invitations to floor it. When the light turns green for you, stay put and let the red light runners finish crossing before proceeding. Even after that, keep looking both ways.
Ron Granger
Mon, Sep 19, 2011 : 2:16 p.m.
Ann Arbor is not Detroit. We go to great lengths to keep it from becoming part of Detroit's suburban sprawl. I hope what happens in Detroit, stays in Detroit. Otherwise, there'd be no point in living in Ann Arbor. Most people I know sometimes run stop signs and signals in parts of Detroit. It is about self preservation. Just like always leaving "getaway space" in front of your car when you must stop. I don't like ignoring those traffic signals, and it took me a while to get over the guilt. Nothing says "out of town sitting duck victim" like sitting at a light in detroit with no traffic, when there are apparent gang-bangers operating at the corner. You just don't stop there - you avoid the confrontation and situation. These are some of the many reasons I avoid Detroit, but sometimes need to go to bad places to get supplies for projects from industrial suppliers, etc.
a2citizen
Sun, Sep 18, 2011 : 11:31 p.m.
Running red lights keeps the intersections clear. Gridlocking intersections seems to be the pasttime in Ann Arbor.
Skyjockey43
Sun, Sep 18, 2011 : 7:56 p.m.
Oh,and lock up the stop sign running cyclists too. Good idea Hutster
Skyjockey43
Sun, Sep 18, 2011 : 7:55 p.m.
Want to collect a "tidy sum"??? Start ticketing the teeming throngs of entitled, inconsiderate, seemingly death-wish motivated jay walkers in this town who seem to believe their right to cross the street wherever, whenever, and at the slowest 100 year old three-legged tortoise checking it's facebook friend status on an iPhone speed supersedes any driver's right to drive five blocks Down State street without spending more time than it takes Congress to come up with a workable budget. Take a little more responsibility for your own safety there Mr. Pedestrian.
KJMClark
Mon, Sep 19, 2011 : 12:02 p.m.
I should note that rule 709 says "marked crosswalk", and 710 says "crosswalk", because every intersection has crosswalks, whether they're marked or not. Yes, the other ordinances for motorists yielding for pedestrians say "marked crosswalk or unmarked crosswalk at intersections". So just because there's no paint, that doesn't mean there's no crosswalk. OTOH, 709 means if the adjacent intersections have traffic signals, you have to use a marked crosswalk.
KJMClark
Mon, Sep 19, 2011 : 11:10 a.m.
A2lifer - yes there is, but it's not the one Skyjockey came up with. It's part of Michigan Uniform Traffic code: "R 28.1706 Rule 706. Pedestrians; yielding right-of-way; violation as civil infraction. (1) Every pedestrian who crosses a roadway at any point other than within a marked crosswalk at an intersection shall yield the right-of-way to all vehicles on the roadway. R 28.1709 Rule 709. Pedestrians; crossing between adjacent intersections; violation as civil infraction. (1) Where traffic-control signals are in operation, pedestrians shall not cross the roadway except in a marked crosswalk. R 28.1710 Rule 710. Pedestrians; crossing roadway in business district; violation as civil infraction. (1) In any business district, a pedestrian shall not cross a roadway other than in a crosswalk." Those are all civil infractions. They apply now that AA has adopted UTC.
Skyjockey43
Mon, Sep 19, 2011 : 2:29 a.m.
MICHIGAN VEHICLE CODE (EXCERPT) Act 300 of 1949 257.676b Interference with normal flow of vehicular traffic prohibited; exception; violation as civil infraction. Sec. 676b. (1) A person, without authority, shall not block, obstruct, impede, or otherwise interfere with the normal flow of vehicular traffic upon a public street or highway in this state, by means of a barricade, object, or device, or with his or her person. This section shall not apply to persons maintaining, rearranging, or constructing public utility facilities in or adjacent to a street or highway. (2) A person who violates this section is responsible for a civil infraction.
A2LIFER
Mon, Sep 19, 2011 : 12:16 a.m.
There is no jay walking law
hut hut
Sun, Sep 18, 2011 : 7:49 p.m.
I'm waiting for the anti-cyclist-stop-sign-running-lock-them-up-and-throw-away-the-key commenters to chime in.
KJMClark
Mon, Sep 19, 2011 : 11:04 a.m.
Yeah, who'd have thought that the most popular comments would be anti-stop sign?
Tru2Blu76
Sun, Sep 18, 2011 : 7:47 p.m.
The Reverend should be told about the new "HAWK" stop signals, like the one on W. Huron near the YMCA. HAWK signals are activated by pedestrians wanting to cross at exactly that type of location. Besides, I believe there's a new ordinance requiring vehicles to stop when pedestrians arrive at the beginning of any and all crosswalks.
Skyjockey43
Sun, Sep 18, 2011 : 8:01 p.m.
Actually the new ordinance requires you to stop when someone is APPROACHING the crosswalk. Although I challenge you to tell me where in this genius inspired ordinance it tells me where I can develop the psychic abilities to determine every approaching pedestrian's travel intentions.
scott
Sun, Sep 18, 2011 : 7:11 p.m.
Traffic tickets for stop signs are a waste of time, if someone is driving through quickly, fine. But rolling stops are nothing more than a technicality and should be expected/encouraged as they are safe and are better for fuel and car maintenance. It's embarrassing that someone can't handle crossing the street as an adult and needs to get a police escort to do so....
scott
Mon, Sep 19, 2011 : 2:16 p.m.
bikes don't need to stop, pedestrians don't need to stop, why do cars need three extra seconds to evaluate the safety?
amlive
Sun, Sep 18, 2011 : 10:41 p.m.
Fuel economy? You're really trying to pull the fuel economy argument and vehicle wear argument to justify not stopping at a STOP sign? Sorry my friend, but this mess of an intersection (due to the parking basement construction) is truly ridiculously disorganized and unsafe. The Reverend is right that something needs to be done here.
Homeland Conspiracy
Sun, Sep 18, 2011 : 8:17 p.m.
Rolling stops??? You either stop or you don't.
MAS
Sun, Sep 18, 2011 : 7:11 p.m.
I agree. Drivers hate to stop for people walking. I've been nearly hit as well.