Scene seen in my own neighborhood, fabulous La Latina

So there I am at the pedestrian crosswalk on Carrera de San Francisco, kitty-corner from La Cebada market, next to an older man. He’s a bit unsteady, not tottering but definitely not sprightly, and he’s pulling a shopping cart with one hand.

As he steps into the crosswalk he raises the other hand and holds out a stick with a red flag, waving it horizontally at waist level as he starts across the street.

Admiring, I complimented him on his pro-active technique. He answered that without the flag, the cars don’t stop.

He’s right, as locals know. We all have techniques for crossing at crosswalks, from cowering at the curb until a good driver stops, to stepping confidently into the space that technically belongs to pedestrians but really doesn’t.

As a long-time local and militant pedestrian, I have two techniques. One is to step into the crosswalk, glaring at oncoming drivers who do not seem inclined to stop, sometimes pointing at the crosswalk painted on the asphalt and waving a no-no-no finger at them. The other is to start crossing, apparently unaware of oncoming traffic, all the while keeping a close watch out of the corner of my eye lest I need to leap out of the way.

Which to use when? It depends on the day I’m having, the specific crosswalk, make of the approaching cars (yes, that’s important) and sometimes looks of the driver, if they’re close enough to see.

In this personal campaign to educate local drivers I have stalled more than one car, well, I have not stalled the car, but the driver who didn’t plan to stop and had to downshift too quickly stalled the car (heh heh). I have also had some pleasant surprises, when drivers have stopped in plenty of time, even before I stepped off the curb.

Maybe the day will come when crosswalks do belong to pedestrians?