Also, it's significant that the Random House lexicographers put the "lacking in vitality" definition last. The order matters, and it means that the lexicographers consider that sense to be the least used.

Finally, this connotation is a symptom, not a cause. Using a different word will not cause people to respect pedestrians, any more than taking Prozac will bring back a dead spouse.

I'm not saying this to be snide, but by next spring I will have a PhD in linguistics, so I'm not just talking out my ass. Now, what are your suggestions for the 2009 Manhattan D.A. elections?

–noun
1. a person who goes or travels on foot; walker.
–adjective
2. going or performed on foot; walking.
3. of or pertaining to walking.
4. lacking in vitality, imagination, distinction, etc.; commonplace; prosaic or dull: a pedestrian commencement speech.

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/pedestrian

I vote for "citizen" since we are all one of those in one form or another even if we are not all American. It's a subtle reminder to the masses who may not always relate.

"A citizen was killed by a speeding car on... Bob Smith was walking across/down/etc..."

The lack of competitive D.A. elections is definitely cause for concern. What strategy do you think would address it?

the real question here is how in the world do manhattan voters continue to elect this fossil to the city's top crime-fighting job. he was fantastic during the kennedy administration. give him a gold watch and let's get someone in there who can, at the very least, maintain a functional web site.

Galvo , I am with you. first we nned a new word, like walker.

Yes, because that worked so well in raising the status of negroes, cripples and transvestites. If we just change the word people use to insult us, then they won't be able to insult us anymore!

Please don't waste your time and energy on a euphemism cycle. We need it for more important things. I much prefer the "reclaiming" approach used by queer people. Pedestrian pride!

I'd feel differently if there were no context in which "pedestrian" wasn't an insult, but that's not the case. There are plenty of contexts where "pedestrian" is a perfectly neutral descriptive term. If you don't like hearing people talk about "pedestrian concerns" that have nothing to do with walkability, then protest that.

A few days later I found out that the poor guy had died. I think hospitals have rules against releasing the fact that someone's died, and I can kind of understand that. Of course they couldn't tell me that at the time without revealing the fact that he was dead. It was frustrating for me, though, because I suspected as much but couldn't confirm it.

As far as the D.A.'s office is concerned, I can understand that they're worried about the public meddling in their work. Still, tough shit. They're public servants; they should be able to put up with a little public interference.

There's a bill in the City Council to have quicker reporting on accidents and fatalities to Community Boards. TA files, with great difficulty, a freedom if information act from the NY State DOT NYC data on ped injuries/fatalities and this year they are attempting the same for cyclists injuries/fatailities. They have to be forced to know that it must be a priority, we deserve to know.

The best people to read those messages would be drivers whose lives have been scarred by the deaths of others, or the disabilities of themselves, in collisions they were involved in.