5.29.11
This is an Archival Site
There is now a new Rogovoy Report home
5.18.11
Weekend Preview May 19-24
Bob Dylan tributes, Deborah Voigt, Tom Paxton, Bill Kirchen, John Kirk and Trish Miller
5.18.11
Celebrating Bob Dylan's 70th Birthday in Style
Paying tribute to the greatest rock songwriter ever
5.17.11
FILM REVIEW: In a Better World and Of Gods and Men
Review by Seth Rogovoy
5.17.11
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5.12.11
Deborah Voigt Headlines Mahaiwe Gala
Opera star to sing arias, show tunes on Saturday, May 21
5.15.11
Famed Spiritual Teacher to Speak on Nonviolence
Mother Maya in free talk at Sruti Yoga in Great Barrington, Mass., on Friday May 20 at 7pm
5.12.11
Special Effects Wizard to Be Honored by Film Festival
Doug Trumbull to be Feted by BIFF
5.11.11
Weekend Preview May 12-16
Cultural Highlights of the Berkshire Weekend
6.4.09
Talk about a small world
Elaine and I grew up together, but only just recently met....
5.8.11
Berkshire Living to Cease Publication
A Farewell from Publisher Michael Zivyak
5.8.11
twiGs Branches Out
Lenox boutique launches new e-tail site
5.8.11
[MUSIC REVIEW] Avalon Quartet in Close Encounters at Mahaiwe
Review by Seth Rogovoy
5.8.11
[MUSIC REVIEW] Avalon Quartet in Close Encounters at Mahaiwe
Review by Seth Rogovoy
5.7.11
[FILM REVIEW] Bill Cunningham New York
Review by Seth Rogovoy
5.7.11
[FILM REVIEW] Bill Cunningham New York
Review by Seth Rogovoy
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[EAGLE WATCH] Paper hits pedestrians
7.12.06
In a rather mean-spirited aside, the Berkshire Eagle's ordinarily level-headed editorial page responded to news that the town of Great Barrington, Mass., will be installing solar-powered warning lights at selected crosswalks around town by taking a swipe at pedestrians, claiming (without any substantiation) that pedestrians here "have a tendency to step into crosswalks without looking..."
I cross Main Street in Great Barrington at crosswalks several times a day, and drive through town several times a week, and I have NEVER seen a pedestrian blindly walk out into traffic without looking, while on the other hand I have OFTEN seen cars blindly drive right through crosswalks inches from pedestrians who are already in them and have the right-of-way.
The rule of law and the issue is clear: drivers need to cede the right of way to pedestrians in crosswalks. A downtown street with crosswalks and cars pulling in and out of parking lots is NOT a thruway, but a road to be navigated slowly and with care.
It takes all of about two minutes to get from one end of town to the other in a car, including stopping for the occasional traffic light and pedestrian in a crosswalk.
There is one problem and just one problem only in downtown Great Barrington, and that is that drivers just need to SLOW DOWN and enjoy our lovely little downtown, and not be in such a hurry to get through it.
From my experience in GB, there may be ONE pedestrian "blindly" walking into traffic for every THOUSAND cars that barrel through crosswalks. Why are we blaming the victims here????
Perhaps what people mean by "pedestrians stepping into crosswalks without looking" is that some pedestrians (myself included) don't stand there at the crosswalk waiting for cars to decide to stop. I see people doing that, and you know, you'll be there all day. When I get to a crosswalk, I step out and begin (carefully!) to cross. If cars look like they're not going to stop for me, I put my arms up, I yell at them, I make them stop. To the drivers, I may look like a crazy person "darting out" into the street, but I am exercising my legal right to cross the street. And hopefully startling them enough to remind them what they're SUPPOSED TO DO at a crosswalk: WATCH the crosswalks for pedestrians, and STOP for them!!!!!
7/12/2006
Cars are supposed to be watching crosswalks, but sometimes a driver's view is obscured by parked or oversized vehicles. People milling and conversing at the curb of a crosswalk further confuse drivers--are those pedestrians about to cross, or not?
I have one suggestion to help when we are pedestrians navigating a crosswalk: make eye contact with the drivers. If you do not see acknowledgement, assume they don't even know you are there.
7/13/2006
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