Alexandria — When will Alexandria take a cue from Arlington County with the portable "State Law" pedestrian crosswalk signs. From eastbound Braddock Road at the crosswalk/train tracks, to Mt. Vernon Avenue in Del Ray/Arlandria and elsewhere, they are constantly moved into lanes of traffic presumably by pedestrians and I'm guessing transit bus drivers.
It would be nice if the city is going to insist on placing these at various crosswalks, then it would be helpful if they were cemented in place, like Arlington County.
That said, the City of Alexandria is not the former Cameron Station Army Depot where there was a standing order that granted pedestrians, in or out of uniform, the right-of-way in all situations. Just like traffic lights, stop signs apply to pedestrians as well, be it at two-way or four-way stops. If the city is really looking to promote pedestrian safety, than perhaps you should launch a campaign educating your citizenry about the laws as they apply.
Just because the courts constantly toss out infractions against cyclists for riding through stop signs, does not mean the police should stop writing infractions. You do it enough times, and maybe they will at least slow down through an intersection. I would assume that for this same reason, the police never write infractions against pedestrians for the same reason. The argument that it would turn tourist away is a farce. The city does a pretty good job of that on their own. If you listen to our outgoing mayor, tourists are suppose to take the metro to say Old Town or ferry over from National Harbor. Locals are suppose to take local transit. Tour buses are nice, but we don't want you to park anywhere in our city. If city traffic ordinances don't apply to pedestrians or cyclists, why should motorists bother obeying them.
Ruben Duran
Alexandria