Thomas MacMillan Photo
Frustrated by the lack of a crosswalk on a busy Whitney Avenue stretch, street-painters took matters into their own hands — and, in the view of a lawmaker down the block, inadvertently made the street more dangerous for pedestrians.
The new DIY crosswalk appeared early Sunday morning at the corner of Audubon Street and Whitney Avenue. It’s a homespun affair, comprising a column of spray-painted rectangles connecting the north corner of Audubon with the sidewalk in front of Gourmet Heaven and Moe’s Southwest Grill, on the west side of Whitney.
The painters, who have requested to remain anonymous, could not be reached for comment. They put the crosswalk at a spot where people regularly cross between cars speeding down Whitney away from downtown. a location where Pedestrians have often requested a crosswalk there through the SeeClickFix website.
The spot is just not right for a crosswalk, argued Alderwoman Bitsie Clark, who lives a block away. The slight rise in Whitney Avenue just south of Audubon makes it impossible for oncoming drivers to see pedestrians in time to stop for them in a crosswalk, Clark said.
Jim Travers, interim director of the traffic and parking department, expressed similar sentiments, and said he is working with the city engineer on a better solution.
On Monday afternoon, the new crosswalk worked for at least one pedestrian. Two cars came to a halt at the feet of Yale grad student Sara Cole, who was making her way home. After stepping up onto the east side of Whitney, Cole called it a good spot for a crosswalk. “It is hard to cross the street right here,” she said.
But Cole said she doesn’t think it’s a good idea for people to paint crosswalks wherever they feel they’re needed. “They should probably go through the proper channels.”
Other pedestrians had mixed reactions. Many continued to cross right beside to the new crosswalk.
A lawyer toting a Dunkin Donuts coffee offered a legal opinion. “It’s a little bit of an attractive nuisance,” he said. That’s a legal term that describes something that draws people to it while putting them at risk, like an un-fenced swimming pool. The lawyer, who declined to give his name, said that if a pedestrian were struck by a car while in the crosswalk, the driver could legitimately argue that the pedestrian was jaywalking. In that way, the crosswalk might end up hurting pedestrians more than helping them, he said.
Another man, who said he lives on Audubon, wasn’t too surprised when told the crosswalk wasn’t installed by the city: “I thought it looked a little funny.”
He said he thinks the crosswalk is unnecessary. Whitney is always crossable if you’re careful, he said.
Inside Gourmet Heaven, deli worker Abdou Said welcomed the new walkway. “It’s good for the people. A lot of people cross the street there during lunch break,” he said.
Another pedestrian, in cowboy boots and a green sport coat, gave it a thumbs-up. “Makes you wonder why the city hadn’t done it themselves,” he said.
Later, at City Hall, East Rock Alderman Justin Elicker said he’s asked the city several times to put a crosswalk there. It’s such a long stretch of street with no place for pedestrians to cross, he said.
Elicker said the transportation department told him a crosswalk is impossible at that spot on Whitney because of the lack of visibility caused by the rise in the road over the Farmington Canal, just south of Audubon.
Mike Piscitelli, former head of traffic and parking, confirmed that the city had studied the location and determined that the hill made a crosswalk unsafe. There’s not enough stopping distance, he said.
Elicker said he sympathizes with, but doesn’t support guerrilla crosswalks. “It’s not my favorite way to approach the problem, but I can understand people’s frustration.”
Alderwoman Clark was not so understanding.
“It’s probably one of the most dangerous things you could do,” she said of the new crosswalk.
People have wanted a crosswalk there for years, she said. “But there’s a hill,” she said. “Cars absolutely can’t see.” Drivers won’t be able to put their brakes on fast enough for someone in the crosswalk, she said.
People also request a traffic light there, but it doesn’t make sense to put in another stoplight so close to two others on Whitney, Clark said.
The street may seem dangerous, but no pedestrians have been struck there, Clark said. The sense of danger is what actually makes it safe, because people make double-sure no cars are coming before crossing the street, she argued. “You put a crosswalk in, kids are going to be hit.” A crosswalk leads to pedestrians crossing without looking and getting struck by cars who can’t stop in time, she said.
It’s like antibiotics, Clark said. If you try to kill every last germ with antibiotics, you end up weakening your immune system and becoming more susceptible to illness, the opposite of what you wanted. Better to leave the intersection as it was, with people crossing safely without a crosswalk, she said.
Travers, the traffic czar, is also not a fan of the new crosswalk. “I’m not a huge supporter of this, because it could lead people to a false sense of security,” he said.
“It’s a challenging intersection,” Travers said. The rise over the Farmington Canal requires a better solution than “just putting some paint on the pavement.”
He said he’s working with City Engineer Dick Miller on a solution, like putting in a raised crosswalk, or a curb bump-out. “We need to do something a little more Complete-Streets-esque,” he said.
Instead of picking up spray-paint, Travers encouraged people to fill out a Complete Streets project request form, available here. He said he did just that himself with regard to the intersection of Audubon and Whitney. “That’s really the way we’re going to foster change in the city.”
As for the spray-painted crosswalk, Travers said he’s not going to spend city resources removing it. It should wear away in just a few days, he said.
(Update: Travers said Tuesday afternoon that he will have city workers remove the new sidewalk. See his comment below.)