A vehicle drives up to the crosswalk near the South Main Street bridge in Brooklyn Square, Jamestown. A city resident asked City Council members last week to see if anything can be done to encourage drivers to stop for pedestrians using the crosswalk. P-J photo by John Whittaker

A crosswalk near the Riverwalk in Brooklyn Square has drawn the ire of a disabled city pedestrian – though it’s unclear what the city can do to rectify the man’s complaint.

Ken Keller addressed the City Council this week – attending both the council’s Public Works Committee and the council’s full work session – asking the council to do something to address drivers who don’t stop for the crosswalk near the South Main Street bridge. Unlike most crosswalks, the crosswalk Keller is asking for help with isn’t at the intersection of a road or near a traffic light.

“I had about 20 cars go through there the other day and almost hit me and I’m stuck,” Keller said. “I’m dead meat out in the middle of that road in that crosswalk because they will not stop. I had somebody behind me and they appreciate you trying to get them to stop. I point at the sign and everything and they just keep coming.”

Council members discussed the issue at length. Councilman Randy Daversa, R-At Large and Public Works Committee chairman, said Public Works Committee members are open to suggestions to help make drivers stop for the crosswalk.

Tony Dolce, R-Ward 2 and council president, referenced the plethora of crosswalks installed on Forest Avenue during reconstruction of that road in 2020. There are several neon signs denoting new crosswalks and curb cuts the state installed. Dolce noted other crosswalks that are designed to be noticed, including one in front of UPMC Chautauqua and another near the Prendergast Library on Fourth Street, but noted the sheer number of Forest Avenue crosswalks and the options they give pedestrians.

“I guess the question would be, it almost seemed when I first noticed it, I don’t want to say it’s overkill, but it’s why they cannot be done on Main Street?” Dolce asked.

Mark Roetzer, interim city public works director, responded that Forest Avenue’s crosswalks, curb cuts and signs were paid for by the state while South Main Street is a county road. Roetzer said it would be too expensive for the city to make crosswalk improvements with city funding, but said it is possible to approach the county to do more in the area.

“So we need to make requests and (suggest) locations, but it’s up to them,” Roetzer said. “It would be their project. It would be their job to paint and buy the signs and that sort of stuff. If there’s locations that you want us to focus on, that would be a better way than just saying we need to look at the whole street.”

Councilman Russ Bonfiglio, R-At Large, said the problem with crosswalks isn’t visibility, signs or too few of them, but rather drivers not paying attention to the road and stopping when pedestrians are in the crosswalks.

“The problem isn’t that we need more,” Bonfiglio said. “The problem is they don’t stop. Period.”

State law gives pedestrians the right of way in crosswalks at all times, including at unmarked intersections. Drivers must stop for pedestrians in crosswalks, even if they are not in the driver’s lane, and remain stopped until the pedestrian has finished crossing the side of the road the driver is turning onto. Drivers must also yield to pedestrians in other situations, including when there is no traffic control signal; when pedestrians are using a cane or are accompanied by a guide dog; when crossing in the middle of the block and there is no crosswalk, sign, or signal; and when drivers are entering or exiting an alley, building, driveway, or private road/driveway.

“People don’t pay attention,” Dolce said. “They don’t care. A lot of people don’t know it but they need to stop.”

Keller said he understands the expense to put signs with flashing lights near the South Main Street crosswalk. He also said he understands that Jamestown police officers can’t be stationed in Brooklyn Square all day to police the crosswalk.

But, the city man said, witnessing a near accident near the crosswalk recently in which a car nearly ended up going into Chadakoin River because the driver was going too fast to stop for a pedestrian in the crosswalk spurred him to act.

“Just get something done before I get killed or someone else does down there,” Keller said. “They don’t stop or nothing, and then you get the bird. I don’t know what you can do.”