European travelling in California, I have questions...

Yesterday evening we arrived in hotel in a coastal town, the restaurant we booked for dinner was 8 min walk away, so of course we walked there. How the hell am I supposed to safely cross something that I can only describe as "highway going inside a town"?! There were restaurants and businesses on both sides of this thing yet no pedestrian crossing! I don't think I've ever seen a junction/crossing in the middle of a town without any pedestrian infrastructure. In the end drivers stopped in confusion and we crossed, but damn...