A new video shot by a frustrated Northeast Portland man shows that the marked crosswalk where a 29-year-old woman was killed last week may as well be a mirage for many motorists.

On the night of Jan. 29, a car struck and killed 29-year-old Heather Jean Fitzsimmons as she used the crosswalk on Northeast Glisan Street and 78th Avenue.

It's the same crosswalk where Portland police ran a traffic sting in November, recording dozens of motorists failing to yield to pedestrians attempting to cross the four-lane, 35 mph stretch of Glisan. "I personally wrote three or four tickets that day," said Traffic Division Lt. Chris Davis. "There was no way to stop everyone that we saw violating the law."

But the death and the costly citations don't appear to be changing driving behavior at the intersection, which is near a popular TriMet bus stop, the Montavilla Community Center and Vestal Elementary School.

Benjamin Kerensa, who witnessed last week's fatal crosswalk collision, set up a video camera on Thursday and recorded at least 70 cars in an hour failing to stop for pedestrians.

"The neighborhood has been trying to get something done about this intersection for a long time," said Kerensa, a software developer. "Nearly every day, I get caught in the crosswalk or nearly hit as I'm walking to catch the bus."

Police are wrapping up the investigation into Fitzsimmons' death before forwarding the case to the district attorney's office. The driver, 24-year-old Samantha Mansholt of Tualatin, has cooperated with investigators. No arrests or citations have been made at this point.

Kerensa said a car stopped for Fitzsimmons and she entered the crosswalk, "but another car flew around the stopped vehicle and hit her."

In some cases, it could be argued that waiting pedestrians in the video demonstrate an intent to cross, which is required under the law. (In a couple scenes, as they stand ram-rod straight on the sidewalk, the walkers might as well be bird-watching or waiting for a bus.)

But in the vast majority of scenes showing drivers zooming through the intersection, the pedestrians made it clear to approaching vehicles that they wanted to cross, even stepping several feet into the white stripes before being forced to retreated to the sidewalk.

Under Oregon law, drivers must stop and remain stopped for a pedestrian crossing the roadway in a crosswalk "when any part or extension of the pedestrian, including but not limited to any part of the pedestrian's body, wheelchair, cane, crutch or bicycle, moves onto the roadway in a crosswalk with the intent to proceed."

Even many of the motorists who braked failed to obey the part of the law that says they must remain stopped until pedestrians have cleared the motorist’s lane and the next lane on either side of their car.

For years, neighbors have been complaining about oblivious drivers at Glisan and 78th. After last week's fatality, the Portland Bureau of Transportation said it is looking at potential fixes. "There's a similar examination of what can be done there," said PBOT spokesman Dan Anderson.

Perhaps this is the next location of a pedestrian-activated rapid flash beacons, which are honestly needed at hundreds of crossings around the city.

Even some orange warning flags at the crosswalk might help.

Something.

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