Near the Kirkland Transit Center, those crosswalk flags we’re experimenting with:

They’re supposed to make pedestrians more visible at dangerous intersections. I’m all for measures that make walking safer (especially since, according to this article, 55 Seattle pedestrians were hit by cars last month), but this one seems a bit impractical. Do people seriously not steal those things?

Along NE 40th Street in Redmond, all the bus stops have two buttons:

The one on the left controls a light, for people waiting in the dark. (I would have said, “for people waiting at night,”except it’s January in Western Washington, and dark is any time of day.) The one on the right controls a bus signal (like those at Montlake and Evergreen Point), so the bus driver knows to stop.

Perhaps one of those would have prevented our mishap on Monday.