Folly Beach PUBLIC SAFETY aim TO MAKE CROSSWALKS SAFER
By Alan Kleinfeld | Contributing Writer
The warm weather always brings more traffic to Folly Beach, both the car kind and the foot kind. When you’re the driver, you probably grind your teeth with frustration with the intrusion of peds.
If you’re on foot, you most likely get fed up with the vehicular congestion, which makes it a chore sometimes to cross the street. Where’s Moses when you need him, to part the sea of cars?
In cities with large public transportations, like New York or Washington, drivers have come to understand and accept that pedestrians are king. Often times if feels as if there are more people on foot than in autos.
It’s a little different in South Carolina. And even more so in Folly Beach. If our police and fire department had to serve only the 2600 fulltime residents, everyone would know in a few blinks of the eye to yield to pedestrians. It would be easier to inform and easier to enforce.
That’s not the case on Folly.
During the busy season, Folly plays home to visitors by the tens of thousands, with new guests arriving each weekend. Imagine trying to get word out to a constituency that’s constantly in flux. Some may get the message, but they’re not in town long enough to absorb it nor, in some cases, care about it.
Public Safety does have a presence. For months now, officers on patrol have been instructed to monitor crosswalks. There have only been a few qualified violations. You might ask, “Well, what’s a qualified violation?”
In South Carolina and in Folly Beach, the law is written like this:
“The driver of a vehicle shall yield the right-of-way, slowing down or stopping if need be to yield to a pedestrian crossing the roadway within a crosswalk…”
If you notice the word ‘within’ then you understand a pedestrian standing on the sidewalk isn’t actually “within” the crosswalk, therefore cars, by law, don’t have to yield or stop.
At the same time, pedestrians just can’t jump off the sidewalk into the path of oncoming traffic, as both State and Local laws state:
“No pedestrian shall suddenly leave a curb or other place of safety and walk or run into the path of a vehicle which is so close as to constitute an immediate hazard.”
This simply means when you enter the crosswalk do it slowly and cautiously, easing on down (just like Dorothy in The Wiz). Make sure you indicate your presence to oncoming drivers – wave your hand in a gesture of ‘thank you’ or stand with your back nice and straight – to help drivers see you. And never assume you have been seen, especially at night.
The City of Folly Beach has begun work to redesign the lanes on Center Street, hoping to improve traffic flow and pedestrian safety. Instead of four narrow lanes, the new plan is to create two wider traffic lanes with one center turn lane. This takes cars turning left out of the traffic flow. It also reduces blind spots, where pedestrians may end up. The new design has been through the Concept Phase and is currently in the Engineering Phase. The City is optimistic the repaving and restriping will begin this fall.
Despite the law and good intentions, many drivers on Folly are visitors, heads turning this way and that, taking in the sights, sounds, and sea air. The last thing they expect is for a pedestrian to appear in front of them. So if you’re on foot, be aware, take your time and enjoy the sea air, too.
Folly Beach Public Safety can be reached at (843) 588-7003. Please like their Facebook page to be kept informed of activity on the island: facebook.com/FollyBeachPublicSafety.
