traffic
Is the area in front of shops considered a pedestrian zone / crosswalk?
<p>In an outdoor mall setting with many shops along road, is the area in front of each shop entrance considered a crosswalk where pedestrians have a right-of-way, even if unmarked?</p>

<p>An incident today got me thinking about the above.  I've always  been under the impression that the above is true, but I'm not certain if it actually is or if people just generally act that as if it were out of courtesy/safety.</p>

<p><strong>Relevant story</strong></p>

<p>Leaving my local Petsmart shop today I started heading toward the road to cross and get to my car.  While walking I glanced to each side and saw one side clear, the other had a lady that just reached a stop sign at a near by intersection.</p>

<p>Given that she had just stopped and I was near the road, I decided to cross when I reached the road.  There was ample time for her to slow and wait if necessary (depending on how fast she decided to go through the intersection).</p>

<p>What transpired is that as I was about half way through crossing she drove up to the point where her bumper was about 6 inches from my legs then waited.  As I got clear she then drove by and yelled out the window "Not a crosswalk, A*h***!"</p>

<p>Florida statutes 316.003(6) defines &quot;crosswalk&quot; as:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>(a) That part of a roadway at an intersection included within the
connections of the lateral lines of the sidewalks on opposite sides of
the highway, measured from the curbs or, in the absence of curbs, from
the edges of the traversable roadway.</p>
<p>(b) Any portion of a roadway at
an intersection or elsewhere distinctly indicated for pedestrian
crossing by lines or other markings on the surface.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>You will have to judge whether either of these descriptions is applicable to that situation: basically, if there was a painted crosswalk, there is a crosswalk, and there is a crosswalk that invisibly continues the sidewalk across an intersection.</p>
<p>Nobody has a right-of-way: there are circumstances when one person must <em>yield</em> the right-of-way. If you are crossing mid-block, the pedestrian is supposed to yield the right of way (316.130(10)):</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Every pedestrian crossing a roadway at any point other than within a
marked crosswalk or within an unmarked crosswalk at an intersection
shall yield the right-of-way to all vehicles upon the roadway.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>316.130(11) also restricts mid-block crossings:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Between adjacent intersections at which traffic control signals are in
operation, pedestrians shall not cross at any place except in a marked
crosswalk</p>
</blockquote>
<p>but malls with Petsmart usually don't have traffic lights at their intersections.</p>
