Wave flag to cross street -- then run

City Councilman James Halloway crosses Broad Street, in downtown Bridgeport, using one of the new cross walk flags he introduced to promote pedestrian safety in the city, June 17, 2017. City Councilman James Halloway crosses Broad Street, in downtown Bridgeport, using one of the new cross walk flags he introduced to promote pedestrian safety in the city, June 17, 2017. Photo: Ned Gerard Buy photo Photo: Ned Gerard Image 1 of / 3 Caption Close Wave flag to cross street -- then run 1 / 3 Back to Gallery

BRIDGEPORT -- Imagine a day when pedestrians frantically wave bright yellow flags at oncoming traffic while they scramble across the city's busy streets.

Well, it's here -- and it's one low-tech solution to Bridgeport's serious vehicle-versus-pedestrian problem that debuted Tuesday as a pilot program downtown.

And clearly it's going to take some getting used to.

"To me, picking up a flag to walk across the street seems a lot of work," said Pam Pirog, who works at Housatonic Community College.

"I think they're silly," said a city staffer, who did not want to be identified. "Somebody's going to hit me whether or not I'm carrying a flag in my hand."

They were among pedestrians crossing Broad Street Tuesday afternoon outside the Margaret E. Morton Government Center and ignored the three plastic yellow flags the city installed at either end of the crosswalk.

The plan is for walkers to grab a flag-on-a-stick from a holder on a light pole, wave it in front of traffic and -- hopefully -- scoot their way to safety on the other side, leaving the flag for someone else.

Already on Tuesday there were some kinks in the system.

What happens if all the flags end up on one side of the street, for instance?

The pilot program was suggested by Councilman James Holloway, D-139, based on flags in use in Salt Lake City. If successful downtown, the initiative may be expanded elsewhere in Bridgeport.

The city bought 80 of the neon-yellow plastic flags on sticks, along with holders and decals, at a cost of about $1,000. Each flag has a black silhouette of a cartoon man; the icon also holds a little black flag.

Even Police Chief Joseph Gaudett, who joined Holloway and Mayor Bill Finch at a sidewalk news conference to discuss the flags Tuesday, acknowledged, "This is kind of an out-of-the-box idea for New England, for Connecticut, for Bridgeport."

But, he said, the city is willing to try whatever it takes to help keep people safe.

Six pedestrians have been killed in Bridgeport since 2010. Just last summer there were five motor vehicle accidents that either seriously injured or killed a pedestrian. Two of those involved small children.

The warning flags are a minor response; the police department has stepped up traffic enforcement, particularly in the most dangerous neighborhoods.

Finch on Tuesday suggested the city is also willing to consider installing more speed bumps in trouble spots.

"The chief and I have had to go to Yale (New Haven Hospital) several times to see children brutally injured," Finch said. "Thankfully, most of those children have made it, miraculously ... But these can be avoided."

Salt Lake City launched its pedestrian flags in 2000, expanding them to 250 locations.

"I think it's quite effective," said Mike Barry, transportation engineer for Salt Lake's transportation division. "I've lived in Salt Lake for a long time ... If you have that flag in your hand, that's a signal you are trying to cross. It's very visible and I think helps the pedestrian. They're making more eye contact with drivers. They're not just whipping across the street, thinking they have the right of way."

The one downside, Barry said, is the flags tend to "disappear."

"We just go through a lot of them," he said.

Siovhan Boyd said the flags were a good idea -- after they were pointed out to her.

"That's great," she said. "But would anyone else pay attention to it?"

Asher Albaz, who works at nearby Housatonic Community College with Pirog, said he was willing to try the flags, but agreed some drivers still might not pay attention.

"Unless you really jump," he said.

Deborah Jones welcomed anything to help her cross the street safely.

"Some people, they just keep driving," she said. "There's plenty of times I almost got hit by a car."

As Jones walked away, a bike-mounted business district employee braked in the middle of Broad Street and scooped up a flattened squirrel.

brian.lockhart@scni.com; 203-414-0712; http://twitter.com/blockhart1