Drive safely and make Sandpoint a walking town

I would like to alert other drivers to being more cautious of our pedestrians in Sandpoint crosswalks.

On Jan. 3, I was driving down Fifth Avenue at about 4:50 p.m. when I saw three children crossing the street on Fifth Avenue and Poplar Street. I stopped to allow the children to cross the street. I was in the far-left lane and I noticed a car approaching in the right-hand lane. I was praying that they would also stop since I figured they didn't see the children in the crosswalk. The driver didn't see them and slammed on their brakes as the youngest child was screaming and barely got out of the way of the car approaching her.

As a citizen of this county, I feel that we need to do something about being more attentive to our driving practices, and be thankful the car traveling north didn't hit three young innocent children who were in the crosswalk.

The lighting conditions are very poor and crosswalks in that area are not well painted. We all need to be more observant and watching for our pedestrians in Sandpoint since Sandpoint is considered a "walking town."

BETH BEDDINGFIELD

Ponderay