Pedestrians headed for the Pine Grove Town Hall are going to be notably safe from vehicle danger - if the state of California has anything to say about it.

And it has.

Not with words, but with a pedestrian-activated flashing yellow caution light. The new safety-oriented array was activated Oct. 23, said Bob Boswell, a spokesman for the state Department of Transportation.

Although the Pine Grove branch of the Amador County Library is housed in the rear of the town hall, library-patron pedestrians aren't the focus of the safety move, said Laura Einstadter, county librarian.

"There are all sorts of programs at the town hall, and parking is difficult on that side of the road, so people tend to park across the highway, and crossing is difficult," Einstadter said.

The location of the traffic signal and crosswalk is at the intersection of Highway 88 and Church Street.

State law has long required that motorists be alert to all crosswalks, and mandates that a motorist stop as soon as a pedestrian leaves a sidewalk into a marked crosswalk. In recent years, however, pedestrians seem less likely to take that first step if any traffic is approaching.

Some federal money is earmarked for a Pine Grove highway project, with one alternative being an entire bypass of the town. The reason is safety. Another safety problem spot for the state highway, the town's main street, is at the intersection of Highway 88 and the Pine Grove-Volcano Road. The intersection is next to Pine Grove Elementary School and is near the Upcountry Community Center, both locations where children form a large segment of the pedestrian population.