Time has come to pull plug on Sandpoint's version of 'Frogger'

A picture, in this case, may well be worth more than a thousand words.

It could save a few lives.

While dodging traffic this past week during one of my several-times-a-week visits to all points caffeine, a friend looked and me and asked why the city, the state, the county — somebody — didn't put cameras up to put the pinch on crosswalk scofflaws and racing motorists?

This was after a half-dozen drivers pretended not to notice us as we began to cross First Avenue — including one which sped in front of us after we had started to cross the road.

After all, she reasoned, if states around the country have used cameras to target speeders and drivers racing through red lights, why not use them to target drivers ignoring the rules here. To be fair, we also figured that pedestrians jaywalking in the middle of the street should be targeted as well — if you could work out how to send them a ticket.

The technology behind the cameras is simple, as vehicle enter an intersection — or approach a crosswalk — it triggers induction sensors, which in turn cause a camera to take a picture. Violators are sent a picture — and a ticket.

It isn't the first time, or the only spot in town that pedestrians are forced to play "Frogger" in an attempt to navigate the city's streets safely. It's an all-too-common event and I have lost count of the times I have had to stop in my tracks to avoid being hit.

Drivers are in too big a hurry, speeding their way through downtown, ignoring the 25 mph speed limit. Stopping, even for a few seconds to let a pedestrian cross the road, doesn't register as something they should do.

Cameras may not be the answer, or may only be a part of the answer — but they are an idea worth tossing into the debate as we, as a community, work on ways to make navigating the congested mess that is downtown Sandpoint safer.

Maybe fear of a fine may work where manners and courtesy are not.

Caroline Lobsinger is the managing editor of the Daily Bee