The Observation Deck

Lakewood Police stage sting operations to improve crosswalk safety

The actual headline is, "Lakewood Police stage sting operations to improve crosswalk safety on Halloween."

Lakewood police have modeled their sting operations after a Riverside, California undercover operation. Riverside had a police officer dressed as a 7-foot-tall gingerbread man walk back and forth in a crosswalk, risking his life as cars zoomed by and cut him off. Riverside police issued 13 tickets to drivers in less than an hour.

Lakewood is performing a similar sting at various locations. Lakewood is dressing its police as Dracula.



Here is a link to the story:

http://kdvr.com/2013/10/30/lakewood-pol ... halloween/

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Actually, the story above comes to us from KDVR, Fox 31, Denver, Colorado. It is about Lakewood, Colorado, not Lakewood, Ohio. It was posted October 30, 2013, by Will C. Holden.

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Huffington Post is also covering "Operation Transylvania."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/3 ... 78006.html

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Hey, checkout Lakewood Observer's Facebook Page.

There is a discussion going on over there as to how this post is somehow relevant to Lakewood, Ohio.

Matthew John Markling wrote:Hey, checkout Lakewood Observer's Facebook Page.

There is a discussion going on over there as to how this post is somehow relevant to Lakewood, Ohio.

I don't know Matt, on Fbk it looks like there are a bunch of people who find it fascinating that there are a lot of different cities called "Lakewood" around the country-- doesn't seem that relevant to Lakewood, Ohio.

What is relevant to here is the guy I saw yesterday trying to get across the street wasn't a gingerbread man, or Dracula, but Lakewood's Library director James Crawford.

I think this discussion has to include crosswalks that no longer exist, and lights that no longer exist.

Cars still stop for the traffic lights. We took them out. We need them back. Risking the lives of actual humans to raise awareness seems wasteful of human life.

So Mr. Crawford was across the street from the library, perhaps he had had lunch at Humble, or had to run into Radio Shack for something-- or maybe needed some kind of office supply or some carrots from Drug Mart. And he, like everyone I know, didn't walk all the way to Arthur or Elmwood (the psycho crossing) to get across the street. He flattened his body against a parked car, and waited for his best shot, and ran.

This is how we have arranged our DownTown. No crosswalk in front of the library. You know, because nobody goes there.

I have heard that there are some in Lakewood City Council trying to put this crosswalk back. This was the the deadliest removal as far as what I see every day, though there are some that would claim it's more deadly at Manor Park.

I can't really believe we have reached this point. Where our city leaders have decided to actively risk the lives of our pedestrians, every single day. This is maybe a good place to spend our money.

I think our library director made it across the street, or we would have heard about it.

Crosswalks don't work very well. Lights do. Let's take some of that garbage collecting money we're saving with our new recycling bins and put it there. Before we are discussing something much more tragic and terrible, that didn't need to happen.

Betsy Voinovich

Oh, that's what we were suppose to get from Steve's posts, Betsy?

Can you get me one of those secret decoder rings you LO folks must have?

It's getting harder and harder to figure out what any of you are saying anymore.

Matthew John Markling wrote:Oh, that's what we were suppose to get from Steve's posts, Betsy?

Can you get me one of those secret decoder rings you LO folks must have?

It's getting harder and harder to figure out what any of you are saying anymore.

Here we go, Matt:

In another city called Lakewood, they ALSO have trouble getting their drivers to respect crosswalks. So around Halloween, they tried something innovative, like having policemen dressed as Dracula, to bring attention to the fact that there ARE PEOPLE of some kind in the crosswalks, and you should stop for them.

I don't hang out on FB so I'm not sure what you are referring to. The point of Steve Davis' post was to say other towns have the same issues that we do, maybe we can learn from them-- it's ironic and fun for Halloween that one of the town's was also called Lakewood.

Meanwhile, you are talking about "secret code" when there is nothing secret about our crosswalk (or total lack of crosswalk) issue.

Is it just supposed to go on like this until someone gets killed?

Betsy Voinovich

Oh.

All that stuff you were/are talking about isn't mentioned anywhere in Steve's posts.

You know that, right?

Right?

Matthew John Markling wrote:Oh.

All that stuff you were/are talking about isn't mentioned anywhere in Steve's posts.

You know that, right?

Right?

From Steve's original post:

"The actual headline is, "Lakewood Police stage sting operations to improve crosswalk safety on Halloween."

Lakewood police have modeled their sting operations after a Riverside, California undercover operation. Riverside had a police officer dressed as a 7-foot-tall gingerbread man walk back and forth in a crosswalk, risking his life as cars zoomed by and cut him off. Riverside police issued 13 tickets to drivers in less than an hour.

Lakewood is performing a similar sting at various locations. Lakewood is dressing its police as Dracula."

But we don't have a gingerbread man or Dracula. We have Jim Crawford.

Betsy Voinovich

Apparently this idea actually has legs ...

http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/butterball_operation_pits_cops_dressed_as_turkeys_against_drivers_who_viola/?utm_source=maestro&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=daily_email