We need all crosswalks going across major roads to be safe. There are many crosswalks in the city that cross major roads that do not have traffic lights and it is very hard to get cars to stop for pedestrians/bicyclists. My proposal is that all crosswalks in the city should have traffic lights so pedestrians can push the button and wait for the light to change and then walk safely across. Safe crosswalks in my neighborhood would make it easier to commute by bicycle, get to the bus stops and use the public transportation, and take my kids to the nearby parks.

I live between 35th Ave and 43rd Ave, between Dunlap and Peoria in Phoenix. My neighborhood has no public park in our square mile and to get to the nearest public parks, we have to cross either 35th Ave or 43rd Ave at a crosswalk in between the major lights. The problem is, when I'm trying to cross at the crosswalk, cars do not stop for pedestrians. The crosswalk on 35th Ave to Cortez Park is clearly marked and drivers are more likely to stop at this crosswalk, but when I was growing up I had a friend get hit by a bus in that crosswalk and she nearly died.

The crosswalk on 43rd Ave between Dunlap and Peoria is not clearly marked and I have waited 10-15 minutes at that crosswalk with my kids, all of us on our bikes, waiting for someone polite enough to stop. Finally someone stopped, but then while the one car waited for us, other cars refused to stop. My husband finally decided to just lead the way across, waving cars to stop so we could get across. It was one of the more terrifying moments of my life because cars were zooming by at 50 mph with no regard to the crosswalk. (By the way, I'm not sure if Phoenix or Glendale is responsible for that particular crosswalk on 43rd Ave between Peoria and Dunlap.)

So, please improve our crosswalks by putting lights at all of them, making it safer to walk and cycle in our city.