Raleigh City Councilwoman Mary-Ann Baldwin was walking on St. Mary's Street last month when she was nearly struck by a car whizzing through an intersection.
More recently, Councilman Bonner Gaylord was headed on foot to Tuesday's City Council meeting when a car almost hit him next to City Hall at McDowell and Hargett streets.
The frightening near-misses led Baldwin and Gaylord to voice support for a public awareness campaign to discourage speeding.
Baldwin urged the city's public affairs staff to come up with some ideas "to raise the level of consciousness about this."
Gaylord said his own experience served as a jolting reminder of the dangers facing pedestrians.
My colleague Bruce Siceloff has done some reporting on this topic lately.
About 2,500 pedestrians are struck by cars in North Carolina each year, with about 170 of them killed and an additional 240 injured seriously.
The risk has become greater because of the distractions caused by smart phones and mobile devices, experts say.
One case involved an exchange student at UNC-Chapel Hill who was wearing music headphones as she jogged across the campus in October 2008. She died when she ran into the path of a bus. Investigators concluded that she never heard or saw the danger.
Baldwin or Gaylord each indicated they were paying attention when their near-misses occurred.
Baldwin said she's not sure what steps the city ought to take. She pointed to Matt Tomasulo, in the audience Tuesday to seek approval for his handmade "Walk Raleigh" signs, as someone who might have some innovative ideas.
"If Matt wanted to go out and create something, I'd be OK with that," Baldwin said.
