I am tired of almost getting hit by cars every time I walk in this town. Initially it was kind of cute -- "Awe, the little suburbanites have no idea what to do with bikers or pedestrians." That mindset ended when one morning I was biking up Allen Street, in the designated "bike path," and a driver at a stop sign didn't see me and hit my bike. After that, I pretty much stopped biking and started walking, which isn't any safer.

Other memorable experiences include a time when I was crossing the street at a crosswalk with a walk sign and a driver tried to run me over because he wanted to turn where I was walking. And just this weekend I was crossing Westerly Parkway at the crosswalk with the walk sign and a driver making a turn and nearly hit me. If I were in the middle of the crosswalk, I probably would be in the hospital.

It scares me how frequently these things seem to happen to me and my friends. It also scares me to think the police in this town decided it wasn't important to keep the white "pedestrian crossing" signs up at crosswalks in town because cars kept hitting them. How many biker and pedestrian deaths need to occur before this town decides to pass laws protecting those not housed in two-ton steel-encased shelters?