Crosswalks to be flagged in downtown Port Angeles

PORT ANGELES — Pedestrians soon will be able to hold their flags high when crossing some downtown streets.

Pedestrian crossing flags will be posted at designated crosswalks in the downtown stretches of First and Front streets, tentatively beginning Thursday, according to the Police Department.

The orange flags will be posted on both sides of the mid-block crosswalks.

Day or night, pedestrians can carry the flags across the crosswalks, to increase their visibility to motorists, and then place them at the post on the other side.

Installation of the flag holders and signs at the crosswalk describing the procedure is planned on Tuesday, the statement said.

Port Angeles Deputy Chief Terry Gallagher said he couldn”t recall the last time there was a car versus pedestrian crash in the downtown corridor.

But, he said, “we’ve had lots of complaints over the years.”

Some of the funding for the flags will be provided by a grant from the Washington State Traffic Commission.

The flags have been used in Kirkland and Richland.

Although the flags will make pedestrians more visible, people shouldn’t cross a street until traffic has stopped, and, whenever possible, eye contact has been made with drivers of stopped vehicles, the statement said.