Trail Users Must Stop for Cars!
It looks like a Frankfort-style crosswalk, but it isn't.
At the July meeting (more on that to come) we learned from Justin Towle (DPW) that two car crashes occurred recently where the Betsie Valley Trail crosses M22 in Elberta. These happened because a car stopped at the crosswalk to let cyclists or pedestrians pass, and oncoming drivers did not slow down in time.
Trail users have stop signs at their crossing, and vehicles have the right of way on M22. Obviously, a car should slow down if they see someone in the middle of crossing the road up ahead, but the onus is on trail users to look both ways and wait until the coast is clear before crossing, just as you would on a regular street.
By the same token, cars should NOT stop for trail users who are waiting at the trail stop sign to cross. Keep going! Otherwise, you might get rear-ended. You might get rear-ended into a cyclist!
Towle said he is contacting MDOT about signage that says something like “vehicles do not stop.” It was also suggested by someone in traffic safety that we “let the crosswalk lines fade.”
In the meantime, please observe these rules and have a safe and happy summer, no matter how many wheels you have under you.
In other traffic safety news, the MDOT-approved Turtle Crossing sign has been installed. Egg-laying season is now actually over, and so I will be taking it down. But I’ll be putting it back up again next year in May.
