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Dear Editor:
Five years before my wife, Mary Kay, was killed by an MTC bus at the corner of Cleveland and Ford Parkway, she wrote to the editor--with a copy to the then-mayor--"We need curb to curb on walk or somebody is going to be killed on this pedestrian crossing...."
Over six years later, I am grateful to Senator Richard Cohen for authoring S.F. 1533 and to Representative Michael Raymar for authoring H.F. 1671. These bills prescribe time cycles for curb to curb on "Walk" and curb to curb on "Don't Walk"; steady "Walk" and flashing "Don't Walk" signals must display for at least a period sufficient to allow a pedestrian walking at a speed of three feet per second to cross the street from curb to curb..." (i.e., one minute for an 80-foot crossing).
These bills (changing statute 169.06 subd 6) will now invoke a measured time cycle for signalized pedestrian crossings of varying length, when and if promulgated, to ensure "a pedestrian-friendly state."
Sincerely,
Philip M. McDonald
Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering, University of Minnesota, 1950
