The pedestrian crossings along Automobile Alley remain unmarked even after a staffer with U.S. Sen. James Lankford's office was hit by a motorist earlier this year at NW 10 and Broadway. The intersections instead consist of wheel-shaped stamped concrete patterns. [Photo by Doug Hoke, The Oklahoman]

Christmas tunes were playing on the radio, my son and his friends were laughing and enjoying the holiday lights along Automobile Alley and the evening outing to go snowtubing at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark was destined to become a cherished memory.

And then the evening almost took a tragic turn. Two people darted out of my way and I quickly swerved to avoid hitting them. The road was dark. The crossings are not marked. These are not excuses. I am ultimately responsible for how I, as a driver, respond to the road conditions in front of me.

But Broadway, one of the city's earliest streetscapes, completed almost 20 years ago, is now a hazard for pedestrian traffic that didn't exist back then. Some "yield to pedestrians" paddle signs went up earlier this year after a motorist struck a staffer who works in U.S. Sen. James Lankford's office.

The paddle signs help — a bit. But Broadway remains a street designed for motorists, without even the crosswalks that are found throughout the rest of downtown.