The Olympic Discovery Trail is a truly wonderful resource for our area.
We often enjoy the trail bicycling and hiking.
There is a safety problem along the trail that needs prompt attention.
Where the trail crosses county roads, pedestrian crossing points are poorly marked and in some places difficult to even recognize.
The crossings are marked by two yellow triangle signs, one sign facing each direction of traffic.
On these signs there is an image of a nondescript human torso high above the approximate area of the trail crossing.
When I first saw this sign I asked myself, “What exactly does that sign mean?”
I took a photo to the Sequim police station.
A helpful patrolwomen behind the desk also did not know immediately what the sign meant.
She pulled out a book, looked it up, and found it means it’s a pedestrian crossing, motor vehicles should yield to pedestrians.
The problem is vehicles rarely do yield.
Maybe one out of 10 vehicles stops at the trail crossings for pedestrians.
Even worse, when a vehicle from one direction does stop, vehicles from the other direction often do not.
This is an exceptionally dangerous situation.
Pedestrians find themselves halfway across the street when the opposite lane vehicle flies by.
This is a deadly accident waiting to happen.
So we have fast bikes, slow walkers, recumbent bikes, baby strollers, older bikers and tourists encountering danger because of under marked road crossings.
The crossings need more effective signage and better markings to eliminate this unnecessary danger.
John Konrath
Sequim