WPCNR Cars Vs. Pedestrians. April 10, 2006: As yours truly was making my way back from dropping off the WPCNR Mobile Unit for repairs today I chanced to cross North Street at Bryant Avenue Southbound on the Trinity Church and Baptist Church side. Walking Southbound across Bryant Avenue (where there is no X-ed out crosswalk and no "Walk, Don't Walk signal," for the direction I was going.  I was nearly taken out of circulation permanently by a van who honked me out of his right-of-way and I had to return to the curb, spinning out of the way like a matador.

NO 2 OF WHITE PLAINS MOST DANGEROUS INTERSECTIONS: Cross Walk to Nowhere on North Street & Bryant Avenue. The Cross Walk leading across Bryant Avenue does not connect to a sidewalk for pedestrians (high school students) to proceed southbound down North Street. There is no Cross Walk on the North Side of Bryant, nor crossing Bryant on the East side of Bryant.  Photo by WPCNR News.

I realized that only having two crosswalks at this most busy and contentious intersection was really inviting disaster for the pedestrians. On days when White Plains High School is in session, students use this intersection, which I can tell you is backed up something fierce with impatient cars making lefts and rights to proceed down North Street to the high school. Whether or not the City of White Plains is legal in only supplying two cross walks is not the issue. It's not safe not having four cross walks.

Here's why the cross walk across Bryant is on the West side of the instection in the background, but there's no sidewalk, on the West side where the cross walk is. The Cross Walk does not lead to a sidewalk. The student or pedestrian crossing from Bryant to proceed southbound to the YWCA or the White Plains High School, then must cross North Street again to a sidewalk. Why doesn't White Plains put in two more crosswalks, in order that cars may be slowed down especially during going-to-school hours?

The Main Street and Court Street intersection is similar. There is only one crosswalk and that's on the Macy's Side. Many pedestrians cross illegally at the Renaissance Square corner (where there is no crosswalk or "Walk-Don't Walk Sign."  Having only two crosswalks at contentious intersections, legal or not,  is  not safe for pedestrians, and encourages motorists to jump intersections and speed up their drive throughs.