Crossing the street with Public Health

Have you ever felt scared, unsafe or nervous about crossing the street? As gas prices go up, more and more people are finding alternative modes of transportation such as bicycling and walking. Not only is walking a healthier option but crosswalks ensure pedestrians’ safety while crossing the street. Crosswalks are important everywhere, especially around schools and in well populated cities to protect pedestrians where walking may be the primary way of travel.

These days, drivers have even more distractions such as texting and many people live busy lifestyles and are always on-the-go. When growing up children are told to “look both ways before crossing", but with all these modern day distractions that drivers have it may not be that simple anymore, and certainly not safe. Technology works for the benefit of pedestrians, with beeping noises to aid the visually impaired in crossing the street and a displayed countdown for pedestrians to show how much time they have left to cross the street.

Some intersections may have two types of crosswalks, the first one being the original crosswalk we see at all intersections and the second one is a skywalk (a raised bridge-like sidewalk). They are not as common but this type of crosswalk relieves pedestrian congestion in the streets by offering another way of crossing the street. These are often found in busy intersections and connect users to and from prime locations, such as hospitals, schools, and theme parks. A pedestrian using the skywalk can feel more secure about crossing the street without interference from the traffic below. Crosswalks play an everyday role of protection in everyone’s lives, not only pedestrians but drivers too. If we did not have crosswalks or skywalks, do you think the number of people crossing the street and walking for transportation would change? This is Public Health.