Letter: A need for 'traffic logic' at 10th and Madison crosswalk

Dear Editor,
I value expediency as much as anyone else, and we all love getting to our destinations quickly, but with all due respect to the concerned authors of the letter to the editor "Crossing Madison riskier than it should be," I must respectfully disagree as to the necessity for "higher safety standards." While I too wait to cross the street at 10th Avenue and East Madison Street on my daily commute to class, I've never experienced it as a problem worthy of the time, attention or funds of the city of Seattle.

Growing up in modern cities, as most of us have, cultivates a certain traffic-savvy necessary for expedient navigation in our environment––what we might call "traffic logic."
While only the very adventurous among us dodge cars, who has never braved a crossing under the disapproving gaze of a flashing red palm? Through my own experience growing up in urban surroundings I've learned to recognize the appropriate times to hustle across the street and the right occasions to wait.

Often one is obliged to wait for an opportunity to cross, but it is rare that an accident occurs if one observes traffic laws and, more importantly, traffic logic. With this in mind, how dire is the predicament of those of us relegated to the sidewalk as we wait for the lights on 11th and Broadway to turn red? Does this short pause, correctly identified by the authors of the letter as "several seconds," constitute the difference between on time and late to class? Have we become such abject servants to our planners that we are now calculating our schedules to the exact second?

More importantly, Seattle has a plethora of municipal expenditures to meet with a rapidly shrinking budget. Schools, transit, utilities, parks and public services are just a few of these draws on civic funds.

This elementary overview only begins to scratch the surface of the financial dilemmas of our city, but as barrels of ink have already been spilled on the matter, I will remain concise. Suffice it to say that the time and energy needed for the city to consider and implement the installation of this crosswalk could be put toward far more pressing demands.

With all of this in mind, just how urgent is our need? Isn't this a mere triviality within the context of the greater community? Perhaps the frustration expressed by the authors could be mitigated by slowing down to appreciate our surroundings, our company or even simply the sounds around us. Maybe we might begin to see these few seconds of our day as a gift, a welcome break from the regimentation of the itinerary, instead of a nuisance worthy of siphoning resources from the common weal.

Evan Loeb
Senior Philosophy Major

The editor may be reached at opinion@su-spectator.com