• abhibeckert@beehaw.org
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    1 year ago

    In a better world, our entire CBD would be a shared-use zone where cars can drive if they need to, but pedestrians always have right of way

    Pedestrians do have right of way, at least in QLD. There’s no situation where it’s acceptable to run over a pedestrian except if it was literally impossible to avoid doing so (e.g. if a pedestrian sprints across the street unexpectedly and the driver has no time to swerve or hit the brakes).

    That doesn’t mean it’s legal for pedestrians to obstruct traffic. J-walking leads to traffic jams which leads to situations where pedestrians/cyclists/etc are more likely to be run over and killed. When someone j-walks on a busy streat they are placing lives of other pedestrians in danger.

    • ZagorathOP
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      1 year ago

      Pedestrians do have right of way, at least in QLD

      Incorrect. Yes, a driver will get in trouble if they recklessly run into a pedestrian, but the driver still has right of way when continuing along a straight road, or when at an intersection where the pedestrian has a red light.

      I’m not interested in that semantic argument some people like to get into about the difference between “right of way” and “must give way to”. One is just the inverse of the other. No more, no less.

      It’s not the same as a fully pedestrianised mall, like Queen Street, or a mixed-use area like Albert Street between Adelaide St and Burnett Ln. That latter is what I’m chiefly talking about here. That’s how the CBD should be designed.