Dangerous Intersection at Train Station

There's an interesting discussion on the Advocate 411 blog about a car striking a pedestrian near the train station. Evidently the pedestrian was starting to cross the entrance ramp to 95, but was in a spot where there is no sidewalk OR crosswalk, and a car hit him. The pedestrian did not have the light to cross and was issued a ticket (after sustaining a severe head injury). What's clear from the discussion is that even if the pedestrian had had the light, it's still risky to cross there, because people are trying to zip onto the highway ramp.

I do not understand why there's even a crosswalk there. Why don't the pedestrians just cross at the light that's right in front of RBS? See photo above of that crosswalk, and click on the image to see it larger. Yeah, it's less convenient, but it's safer for everyone. In the photo, the I-95 entrance ramp is just past the tree.

An inconvenient crosswalk, though, does encourage jaywalking. I see that all over Stamford, actually, and I saw it at the intersection by the train station last Tuesday, which was a grey, rainy day. I watched a pedestrian (in a suit) dash across the road (not at a crosswalk), and thought to myself, "These people are NOT as visible as they think they are!" I'm not really sure what the solution is, but I'm sure Stamford has someone on staff who IS supposed to figure that stuff out.

It's human nature to rush around, often unaware of others, and that's why accidents happen. My husband has talked about riding his bike to the train station and I have told him, "Absolutely not." I add, "When I no longer care if you live or die, I'll let you know. Then you can ride your bike to the train station."