Being a PAL — Oregon Style

Hello —

I just got back from a week on vacation in Ashland, Oregon. While there, I was a pedestrian and cyclist. While not a driver, I was a frequent passenger in a car. I was pretty astonished at what I saw — very effective PAL interaction by all three modes of travel. Thought I’d pass it along as food for thought and ask what you all think might contribute to develping such an atmosphere here.

Ashland is small — 20K population, according to Wikipedia, but it is a tourist or resort town, home to the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, and bustling three seasons of the year. The festival is located right on Main Street in the center of town, so there are pedestrians coming and going at all hours.

Like anywhere, auto traffic was heavy, but I was amazed at how every single car came to a complete stop at any pedestrian crossing if there was a pedestrian within 10 feet of the crosswalk who looked like he or she might be contemplating crossing. Conditioned to life in the DC region, I unconsciously chop my steps when approaching a street crossing if a car is approaching, so that we don’t reach the crossing at the same time. I realized on several occasions in Ashland that the car was doing exactly the same thing that I was — slowing to wait for me — setting up almost a Helpy Helperton situation. In each case the car stopped so I could cross.

I observed that my host, a longtime Ashland resident, did likewise when driving. She is not a cyclist, but she drove very cautiously around cyclists, waiting patiently at a safe following distance for an opportunity to pass safely.

While in a group of Ashland residents, aged from teen to 70-something, I asked about this. They all seemed to take it for granted that motorists look out for pedestrians and cyclists. To do otherwise seemed unthinkable. I heard one or two concede that waiting for pedestrians does slow you down, but no real grousing.

I’m wondering how you build such an environment. Without doing a legal research project, I assume their statutes set up a different presumption for zebra striped crossings — in VA, motorists by law are to yield to pedestrians in the crosswalk. It may be extended to pedestrians waiting to cross under Oregon law, I don’t know. I also assume there must be some robust enforcement, but I wasn’t around long enough to observe that.

At the end of the day these folks are Amuricans, just like us, with the same reliance on cars. What makes them behave differently, and how can we get a little of that here?

Liz