EDITORIAL: Winter Courtesy: Anchorage Drivers Should Have More Regard for Those on Foot
By Anchorage Daily News, Alaska
Feb. 3–A winter city is one that handles the season with intelligence and design. But its first rule is simple: Look out for one another.
Anchorage has a ways to go.
Let’s start with a given. Anchorage is not and never has been a pedestrian-friendly town. Despite more than 100 miles of bike/hike/ski trails and tons of talk about “livability,” those on foot better have their heads on a swivel and health insurance current.
Add this winter’s healthy fall of snow and resulting buried sidewalks and berm-obliterated curbs, and the walker’s lot went from routine to dangerous. From Mountain View to South Anchorage to Eagle River, pedestrians had no choice but to take to the road.
Unsafe was sometimes made worse by drivers with no care for those pedestrians. One colleague at the Daily News who walks to work remarked that it was bad enough for him, a young and fit man. What about older people, young kids or that mom toting both groceries and a little one?
You say they shouldn’t be in the road? With that attitude, maybe you shouldn’t be on the road. Sometimes there’s no place else for pedestrians to go, and they must count on the kindness of drivers to steer clear and give them a chance.
It’s a two-way street, even when there’s only one lane. Walkers need to give drivers all the room they can, and forget copping the attitude and getting in traffic’s way. But drivers have a ton or better of vehicle and thus the greater responsibility. Take care around walkers. Give them the right of way. Look both ways at intersections.
Anchorage has done better in recent years clearing walks, but we’re not geared up to handle this much snow fast. That means we have to adjust to conditions and to our neighbors’ hard going.
The thaw of the past week gives the street crews a chance to catch up. The rest of us can take the time to warm up our attitudes and keep it safe for those who must walk in the road.
BOTTOM LINE: It takes a warm heart to make a good winter city.
Alaska Almanac
3 — Rank of the U.S. among world’s largest oil producers.
12.5 million — Barrels of oil per day the U.S. imports.
3 — Factor by which China’s oil demand could grow before equaling U.S. oil consumption.
3 — Rank of Saudi Arabia among largest foreign sources of oil for the U.S.
10 — Rank of the Virgin Islands among U.S. foreign oil suppliers.
30% — Portion of Iraq’s oil output delivered to the U.S.
13.7% — Portion of U.S. oil production that comes from Alaska.
25% — Alaska’s share of U.S. oil production when Prudhoe Bay hit its peak in 1988.
1 — Rank of Prudhoe Bay among the nation’s producing oil fields today, despite a 60% drop in output since 1988.
8 — Rank of Prudhoe Bay among the U.S. fields producing the most natural gas.
0 — Amount of Prudhoe Bay gas used by consumers (the gas is reinjected and also used in North Slope operations).
21.3% — Portion of Alaska’s electricity that comes from hydroelectric projects.
1,433 — Number of alternative fuel vehicles in Alaska (2003 data).
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Copyright (c) 2007, Anchorage Daily News, Alaska
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Business News.
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