Officer: City crosswalks a problem

Police officer Joe Higgs told Grand Coulee City Council members last Tuesday night that the city had a crosswalk problem.

Higgs noted that crosswalks on Midway Avenue, from city hall to the post office, three of them, don’t meet Department of Transportation standards.

He cited numerous times that motorists don’t see pedestrians who are getting ready to cross Midway on one of the crosswalks.

Signage is poor, lighting is worse, and as some city council members affirmed, vehicles parked along the roadway hide good visibility of the crosswalks.

Higgs said that more modern crosswalks either have overhead lighting or lights set into the pavement that move to alert drivers to the crosswalk ahead.

The officer said he has been researching the problem, and brought it before the council so members could ponder it.

Police Chief Mel Hunt stated that pedestrians have been hit on two occasions over the years.

And there have been numerous close calls, he told the council.