How to Paint a Crosswalk

Re:How to Paint a Crosswalk by hairy_callous on Friday May 20, 2022 @11:08PM (#31454932)

Yes! I am energized by this as a pedestrian advocate. Love the initiative. I live in one of the most pedestrian-friendly cities in the country (Boston) and still have issues in my very walkable neighborhood getting across one of its busiest streets. Thankfully the city is actually taking steps to address [1] but if they weren’t I would grab my paint roller and follow this guide.

[1] https://www.boston.gov/departments/transportation/tremont-st...

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Re:How to Paint a Crosswalk by onphonenow on Friday May 20, 2022 @11:30PM (#31455026)

As I noted below (likely going to be voted down for being uncool even if accurate), just painting crosswalks may significantly increase pedestrian risk by attracting crossings to dangerous intersections. So don't get too energized.

Most real efforts here include OTHER steps to calm traffic, and then a painted cross-walk is added to attract pedestrians to that area. I hope Boston is doing more than just slapping crosswalks down with paint on high speed multi-lane roads - because people will be killed. Reducing lanes of traffic where peds cross, slowing traffic (stop signs, lights, speed limits with enforcement) all are much better starting point.

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Re:How to Paint a Crosswalk by indecisive_user on Saturday May 21, 2022 @02:56AM (#31455849)

Sample size of 1 here, but the existence of a crosswalk definitely makes me slow down and pay more attention, because I generally assume if an intersection doesn't have a crosswalk then there's probably not any pedestrians crossing.

This is especially true when turning right at a yield sign, e.g. https://drivinginstructorblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06...

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Re:How to Paint a Crosswalk by onphonenow on Sunday May 22, 2022 @12:19AM (#31464851)

Right, and one piece is normally to reinforce that feeling by selecting crossings that actually DO get pedestrian traffic (normally 20 / hour for any one hour or at least 60 over some combination of 4 potentially non consecutive hours).

What happens when you splatter crosswalk everywhere is they lose some of their subconscious meaning because you de-link them from actual pedestrian use potentially.

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Re:How to Paint a Crosswalk by ghaff on Saturday May 21, 2022 @07:33AM (#31456988)

I think that's fair, especially if there are some other indicators in addition to just the paint.

In Cambridge MA there are some otherwise uncontrolled crosswalks across Mass Ave and, as a driver, I'm definitely a bit more prepared for there to be a pedestrian at that location compared to darting across a random stretch of busy road (though that happens too all the time and I keep my eyes out). That said, as a pedestrian, I don't really trust a driver to see me especially in lower visibility so I generally won't cross at those locations unless I have plenty of opening.

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