Someone could get killed. From July 2009 to July 2010, 73 people were hit by cars in Beverly Hills. And with that, the city boosting Niketown and Jimmy Choo was bestowed the dishonor of being ranked number one in the state for the number of vehicles hitting pedestrians per population, according to the BHPD Motor Sgt. Brad Cornelius. Not something to write home about. Especially when your home is Beverly Hills. The findings received page 4 coverage in the Beverly Hills Courier which headlined the story “Motorists Caught in Web of BH Police Sting.” Ah, poor motorists. The news here is that our traffic officers stationed at the corner of Wilshire and Palm issued 53 citations in less than two hours to drivers who didn’t stop when someone - like your kid or your mother or me or you - was walking in a crosswalk. Here we are encouraging you to hit the sidewalks, and - watch out - we’re getting hit!

So what are we going to do about it? To start, spread the word. Get vocal. We suggested to the City Council that they encourage residents to walk to the big foodie soiree on 9-02-10. Let’s see what happens. We forwarded the link https://californiawalks.org/Home.html to one of our school board members. How will the board support walk to school? Get a group of friends and neighbors together like our @NetWalkers90210. Do an article for The Green Files for http://beverlyhills.patch.com More signage. How about more enforcement of the Cell Phone law. Become active in Streetsblog Los Angeles http://la.streetsblog.org/

Admittedly, the issue is a two-way street: pedestrians need to be careful as well. You know about looking both ways before you cross the street. Fahged about it! Take a second look at this one-time sage advice. Look both ways times two. Make eye contact with the driver. Don’t think that because you’re in a crosswalk you’re safe. Au contraire, mon ami. According to Sgt. Cornelius, you need to exercise even greater caution because those lines on the asphalt are just that, painted lines, and it gives people a false sense of security. Less accidents actually happen at unmarked intersections. Stop the texting. Hold that call. And speaking of calls, tell us about your close calls. Or have you stopped counting?

Hey, is anyone out there angry about this? Let us know.