A PILOT WAS CROSSING AN ACTIVE RUNWAY AT SZP WHEN HE OBSERVED ANOTHER AIRCRAFT ON TAKEOFF ROLL APPROACHING HIM. THEY PASSED WITHIN 100 FT OF EACH OTHER AS BOTH TOOK EVASIVE ACTION.

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I LEFT THE FUEL PUMPS AND ANNOUNCED XING THE RWY. I LOOKED FOR ACFT IN BOTH DIRECTIONS AS THE WIND SUPPORTED CHANGING RWYS. I SAW NOTHING AND PROCEEDED ACROSS AT NEAR MID-FIELD OF THE 2300 FT RWY. A SINGLE ENG ACFT WAS TAKING OFF AND I DIDN'T SEE THE ACFT UNTIL IT WAS NEARLY 200 FT FROM ME. I APPLIED BRAKES AND MOVED TO PARALLEL THE RWY NEAR THE CENTER. THE DEPARTING ACFT MOVED TO THE R ONTO A JOINING PAVED TXWY TO PREVENT A COLLISION. AFTER THE NEAR MISS; I ASKED THE DEPARTING ACFT IF HE WAS ON MY FREQ. NO ANSWER. I CHKED THE OPERATING FREQ THAT I WAS ON AND I WAS ON THE CORRECT FREQ. I HEARD NO DEPARTING ACFT; BUT I ALSO THOUGHT THAT I HAD VISUALLY CLRED THE RWY. I WOULD LIKE TO HUMBLY APOLOGIZE FOR CREATING THIS SITUATION. THE DEPARTING ACFT WAS DARK IN COLOR AND I WAS LOOKING AT THE TKOF END WITH A DIRT HILLED BACKGND. I CLRED THE SKY BUT MISSED THE DEPARTING ACFT. I WAS ALSO NOT DOUBLECHKING; TRIPLECHKING FOR ANY ACFT DEPARTING. I WILL ATTEMPT TO FIND THE PLT OF THE DEPARTING ACFT AND EXPRESS MY APOLOGIES. AT THIS ARPT; I WILL NOT CROSS THE RWY AT MIDFIELD. I WILL PROCEED TO THE END OF THE RWY BEFORE XING. ANOTHER FACTOR MAY HAVE BEEN THE BUSY TFC ON A WKEND AND I HAD BEEN MOSTLY FLYING DURING THE WEEK TO AVOID THOSE BUSY DAYS. I WAS NOT GIVING THE TFC THE ATTN IT DESERVED. NO EXCUSES; I MADE THE SERIOUS MISTAKE.