METRO Would Be Wise To Start Impressing Those Who

[ricco67]

Aug. 29, 2004, 8:45PM

MOVE IT!

Metro would be wise to start impressing those who matter

By LUCAS WALL

Copyright 2004 Houston Chronicle

Metro has been busy cultivating its relationship with a powerful lawmaker. But it must strive to make other friends, too.

The transit authority's new leadership has been getting cozy with U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay recently. DeLay, well known as the guy who stopped federal funding for MetroRail, has praised the new direction at Metro.

The Sugar Land Republican, in two high-profile speeches this month, has lauded the new board and president's willingness to examine other rail technologies and collaborate with other agencies on regional mobility. Metro's leaders still have work to do, however, in convincing their new buddy to snatch the $830 million they want for light rail expansion.

Metropolitan Transit Authority officials also would be smart to improve their relationship with millions of their constituents, some of whom have written me in recent weeks with various complaints. And I have gripes of my own.

Downtown leaders have been irate with Metro after its police officers issued a pile of jaywalking tickets to pedestrians at Main Street Square, which my colleague Rad Sallee reported last week. That is certainly no way to make pals.

Most people think pedestrian-crossing lights are advisory. If the blue man is glowing, you have the right of way. If the orange hand is lit, you don't. In either case, you should look both ways before crossing. If no vehicles or trains are coming, you should be free to cross.

After all, this is how millions of American pedestrians traverse city streets every day. We're not stupid; we're not going to walk in front of a car or train. But we're also not going to stand baking under the 95-degree sun when we can clearly see no traffic heading our way.

The priorities of Metro police are odd. I ride MetroRail almost every day. It has been four months since I have seen a police officer on a train checking for tickets and providing security. We all know about the crash problem, yet I rarely see Metro police patrolling the rail line for drivers making illegal turns and running red lights.

A man has recently robbed at knifepoint a few riders waiting at McGowen Station in my neighborhood, and some passengers have told me they've been harassed on board by homeless people who don't appear to have bought a ticket.

All this is going on, but officers are sent to Main Street Square to ticket people walking across the street?

Bus troubles

I've had two bad experiences with Metro this month. Three weeks ago I was heading to Hobby Airport. The bus I was waiting for never showed up. I had to call a taxi and scramble to make my flight. The cab cost an extra $21.

Last week, I went to a luncheon at the Hilton Americas-Houston. Metro recently decided to again have trolleys stop every block downtown, but all the signs aren't up yet. I waited on McKinney adjacent to the street construction Metro is doing on Travis; there was not a sign. The trolley stopped at the red light and I approached to board. I knocked on the door, not sure if the driver saw me.

She had. She shouted, "This is not a stop! I stop at Main."

Metro spokesman Ken Connaughton said there's no log of Route 101 being late the morning I almost missed my flight. But Metro can't verify driver logs until next year, when its "smart bus" system comes online.

Connaughton advises riders not to wait at bus stops unless a sign for your route is posted. But he also said Metro policy requires drivers stopped at a red light in the curb lane to open the door for a passenger regardless of whether it's a marked stop.

New trolley signs should be up this week, he added.

Please e-mail comments and questions to traffic@chron.com, call 713-362-6832, fax to 713-354-3061, or mail to Lucas Wall, Houston Chronicle, 801 Texas Ave., Houston, TX 77002. Make sure to include your name, city or county of residence, and daytime phone number.

[ricco67]

I figured I'd re-post this particular article since we never had an opportunity to discuss it at length.

Personally, I think jaywalker enforcement in the Medical Center AND Downtown should be more stringent. In the medical center, it's the jaywalkers that cause most of the problems when it comes to traffic there.

Personally, I think they should position police in the area from 11a-3p and again at 4p-5p as these are the worst hours.

At the same time, they REALLY need to be more patrols along the route for traffic violators as well.

Ricco

[dbigtex56]

As a pedestrian, I'm in favor of issuing tickets for jaywalkers. Traffic laws apply to us, too.

Do I jaywalk? Rarely, but yes, I do. There are circumstances where it's safer to jaywalk than to obey the law, such as crossing a one-way street with no traffic coming. (If you wait for the light, that break in traffic may disappear, and right-turning cars are notorious for not checking crosswalks). Just be sure to look around for anything in a uniform before you cross.

I get the distinct impression that many of the people who come to enjoy a revitalized downtown have rarely, if ever, walked down a city street. If writing a few jaywalking tickets makes people more aware and saves some lives, what's to complain about?

One gripe: crosswalk signals are notoriously unreliable. If I'd entrusted my life to them, I'd be dead several times over.

[The Great Hizzy!]

I agree. If Jaywalking isn't enforced to some degree, then despite what the author says, some extremely dense person will cross willy-nilly, without much discretion. Even the most alert people use poor judgement from time to time. The more incentive pedestrians (and motorists) have to use good judgement, the better.

BTW, the stringently enforce jaywalking in downtown Miami during weekdays. Police are even rude about it. "Hey, dummy. You want a car to knock you across the street?"

It's somewhat funny.

[ricco67]

MY main delicate flower about jaywalkers include the Medical center.

People are so wrapped up in their own lives (talking about the professionals, not the visitors) they simply walk into the street with such wreckless abandon that at one point, some pedistrian on the phone walked in front of me just when MY light turned green, who was immediately followed by a flotilla of doctor's and nurses.

I lost it (it was a bad day and behind schedule), got out of my car, stood up and yelled at the lady, "Hey! If traffic was actually moving, you'd have treadmarks on you! Pay ATTENTION when you're talking on that toy of yours!"

I won't repeat the rest of what I said, it was far less polite and not nearly as eloquent.

On main, you have SOME refuge on main if the light catches you midway across, but the other streets are fair game. It's almost like a scene from "mad max" at the way pediastrians and motorists almost DARE eachother to run into them or cross the street.

Enforcement in the city NEEDS to be enforced in downtown. That alone would do two things:

It would keep traffic moving smoothly.

It would also put some money in the city's coffers.

Ricco

[MidtownCoog]

Jaywalking is not that big of a problem downtown.

Never ending contruction, and slow poke pedestrians are more of a concern.

An even bigger problem are the bus routes on Fannin when work lets out. All the stops are on the right, and the buses have to cut across five lanes of traffic to turn left on Pierce.

Talk about needing some proper planning.

And while I am on it, have y'all seen how dangerous some of the cross-walks are? Especially along Smith near Dallas and down towards Jefferson. It's pretty scarry, but nobody seems to care about that.

What else should I expect from lazy old Metro?