The in basket: Patrick Burch of Silverdale e-mailed to say, “The crosswalk on Ridgetop Boulevard at Sid Uhinck has been removed, leaving a VERY dangerous situation to cross Ridgetop. I challenge anyone traveling southwest on Ridgetop to safely AND legally cross Ridgetop without walking all the way down to Myhre Road.
“The crosswalk made easy access to the bus stop and entrance to Clear Creek Trails. If you were to cross Ridgetop at the Waaga Way light, you are not allowed to continue southwest on Ridgetop because there is a no crossing sign. If you were to illegally cross there, you would have to take your life in your hands and dodge cars exiting Waaga Way onto Ridgetop.
“Walking all the way down to Myhre is totally unacceptable and will not be made by many individuals. Pedestrians will be forced to play dodge ball with the cars.
“Until a new permanent crosswalk is installed after the stoplight is finally in place, the crosswalk should be restored. Help us with this unsafe condition.”
Back last winter, while the crosswalk was still there, Ronine Riggins proposed making lane changes approaching that crosswalk illegal, lest a driver looking back to see if it were clear for a lane change might not see a pedestrian in the crosswalk.
The out basket: Jacques Dean, the county’s construction manager, says, “The crosswalk will be replaced at a location near the west side SR 303 off/on ramp. The old crossing was removed, as were the sidewalk ramps that existed on both sides of the crossing.
“The contractor has tentatively scheduled placement of new crosswalk markings for next week, but the work is weather dependent. The plastic markings have to be placed when the pavement is relatively dry.”
The new location should eliminate the danger Ronine saw.
