At last, summer has come to My Home Town and I know this because the tell-tale sign has appeared.

Is it sunshine and warmth?

No.

Is it black flies and mosquitoes?

No.

Seasonal allergies? Lush green landscape? Shorts and t-shirts?

No no and no.

So what is it?

Its the Saranac Lake near-death experience called crossing our downtown streets. Or more exactly, trying to cross them.

A typical example: Last week, I came out of the post office and wanted to go to the Enterprise building across the street. I look right. No cars in sight. I look left, and at the light, about 50 yards away, a group of cars is approaching.

Plenty of time to get across, I figure. But I figured wrong.

After Im 10 feet into the crosswalk, the lead car speeds up, brushing me back to the sidewalk. The next three cars flash by, bumper to bumper, either unaware or uncaring that I exist, much less want to cross the street even though I have right of way.

I flash them the Hawaiian peace sign, hoping one of themll see it in their rearview mirror, but knowing they wont.

Then I get a break. No cars are coming in either direction, so I sprint across the street and get to the other side untouched but unmollified.

So what about Saranac Lake in summer makes it easier to cross the Korean DMZ than our streets?

That bit at the post office couldve been repeated throughout the town. At the bottom or top of Berkeley hill. On upper Broadway or on Main Street in front of the village lot. On Church Street Extension, near Noris. Damned near every crossing is a Patrol Boys Worst Nightmare. This is especially true for any stretch where the Hell Drivers can get up a good head of steam. My fave crossing is between Lakeview Deli and the boat launch, a dream-come-true if youre channeling Evil Knieval.

OK, I exaggerated a bit. You can cross where theres a traffic light or stop signs. But if not, not.

So why dont drivers stop for pedestrians here?

Could be a bunch of reasons. People in cars are insulated from the environment, especially if theyve got tunes or AC on. So that accounts for one group. Another bunch and not a small one are texting. Another bunch are just schmucks. And another bunch do it for another bunch of reasons. But I dont care why they do it I just want it to end. Which it will not do, of and by itself.

In days gone by

We could, of course, just keep accepting it, as we have done. Or we could even embrace it, and I have a great idea for that: A brand-new village motto: Welcome to Saranac Lake, where the streets are safe and the crosswalks are mean.

Or maybe, just maybe, we could take steps to correct the situation.

How could that be done, you ask?

Since unenforced laws dont get obeyed but enforced ones do, the obvious course is to enforce the law. And while you cant tell from what goes on here, New York state law specifically states pedestrians have right of way in all crosswalks, and in all intersections, even those without marked crosswalks.

Or to put it differently, drivers have to stop for anyone in a crosswalk or intersection. Period.

The only way thats gonna happen, of course, is if our local constabulary make sure it does. And the only way thatll happen is if they are out on the streets, on foot, which they used to do when you and I were young, Maggie.

Thats right the town cops used to be on foot patrols as a matter of course. And they regularly stopped cars to help peeps cross the street. But beyond that, there was another great advantage to them being on the sidewalks: We knew all the cops by name, we talked to them, and as a result we liked and trusted them.

By contrast, today I see the cops throughout the day, but only as they drive by. I have no chance to talk to them or even know their names. In fact, I know only one of our town cops, and thats because Ive known him since he was a kid. Our atrocious pedestrian rights situation aside, does anyone think not knowing our police is healthy for a town of 4,500?

In days to come maybe

I anticipate a counter-argument that times have changed and our ways of dealing with things like law enforcement have changed with them. And maybe one of those changes is cops simply cant be patrolling the streets all the time. And while thats true, it still doesnt do doodle-squat to address the traffic situation.

So what can be done?

Good question.

Hows about this as a suggestion: Have the police enforce the street crossing laws the same way everything is enforced selectively. They wouldnt have to be on the streets all the time, just some of it. If our police had a presence at various times throughout the day every day making sure drivers bloody well obeyed pedestrians rights laws, I cant see how it wouldnt improve the situation. At the very least, what could we lose by giving it a try?

I realize no actions will be changed before the thinking behind them is. So hows about thinking about this:

Texting is perfectly legal, but illegal while driving. Smoking pot is also legal, but also not while driving, and not in public. That said, if I were to stand in Berkeley Square in mid-day and start puffing away on a Tommy Chong bong, you can bet a bunch of our good burghers would call the cops and Id be carted off to the hoosegow before I could sing two verses of Light my Fire.

Meanwhile, in the time it took me to light up and get hauled away, at least a dozen cars wouldve driven by with the drivers looking at their texts instead of the road.

And which of us, me with a slight cough and ruby-red eyes, or them with their distracted driving, would pose the greater danger to the public at large?

(BTW, if youre looking for a great example of a rhetorical question, you need look no further.)

I realize as a result of this column, some people will consider me anti-cop. But Im not.

If anything, when it comes to this issue, I am clearly pro-life.

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Stop, in the name of Life | News, Sports, Jobs - The Adirondack Daily Enterprise