Change step in right direction

JAYWALKING is illegal and a bad habit in Cairns.

Maybe it’s something to do with our laid-back attitude or the large number of tourists in holiday mode.

It is very rarely policed but there is a fine of $52 if caught.

You are deemed a jaywalker if you cross a road within 20m of a set of traffic lights or a designated crossing, if you cross if the red signal is flashing or the countdown clock has started.

Now Cairns Regional Council is making it easier for “jaywalkers” to cross two busy intersections willynilly and legally.

New diagonal “scramble” crossings are earmarked for the Shields, Abbott and Grafton street intersections. When the little green man signals go, pedestrians can cross in any direction while traffic comes to a stop.

The new crossings will probably be rolled out across the city. Other obvious places are the Shields St intersection at Sheridan St as well as along Spence St from the Esplanade through to Sheridan St.

All these intersections are busy with tourists as well as city workers and residents.

It also is a safety measure. It has helped achieve Tokyo’s incredibly low traffic fatality rate.

Deaths occur at only a rate of 1.3 per 100,000 people in 2015, according to the World Resources Institute.

It will make traffic flow more efficient and streamlined. The current system is disjointed, slow and cumbersome.

Anything to enhance traffic and pedestrian movements on busy main thoroughfares is part and parcel of modern management of cities. Nick Dalton Deputy editor FOR THE RECORD: The Cairns Post is committed to accurate, fair and fearless publication of news and commentary. But we acknowledge and aim to promptly correct errors when they occur. Corrections, clarifications and explanations the newspaper wishes to make will appear in this space. If you are aware of an error in this newspaper, please contact editorial@cairnspost.com.au or phone 4052 6627.