Comments on: Decatur’s “Brick” Crosswalks Coming In January

By: Byron

Byron — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 16:08:20 +0000

Y’all, brick pavers or stamped red asphalt are not nearly as visible as painted reflective white crosswalk stripes. The “piano bar” stripped crosswalks have been well studied and well regarded for visibility. The as the red pavement gets dirty it quickly turns gray or black and becomes nearly invisible in low-light situations. I haven’t seen the city’s designs for the new brick crosswalks but hopefully they will install additional white stripping or better yet either in-ground or overhead flashing lights.

By: "Naaman" Gibbets

"Naaman" Gibbets — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 05:03:24 +0000

“Maybe I have too much faith in humanity but a little part of me always hopes drivers will notice my good deed…”

Clearly, you are confused.

By: Unconcerned Citizen

Unconcerned Citizen — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 16:22:39 +0000

I can’t find the article about it, but I recall reading that the crosswalk buttons in some major city are all disconnected. Nothing happens when you press it, so it acts as a placebo and you think you’re crossing faster than you actually are.

By: cubalibre

cubalibre — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 15:03:40 +0000

That would be a good idea. When I lived in London, there were crosswalks that had flashing yellow lights mounted on 8-ft. (or so) posts on either side of the road where the crosswalks began, and about a dozen small strips of a reflective material lining the width of the sidewalk. There must have been sensors of some sort embedded in those strips, because when you were about to cross, the flashing yellow lights came on as soon as you stepped on the part of the sidewalk where the crosswalk began. Even drivers who were a ways off yet would know someone was crossing (or about to), and would stop. I was told there were hefty penalties for drivers who were caught ignoring those lights, and I believe it, because I never once had anyone push the limits like drivers do here.

By: smalltowngal

smalltowngal — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 14:19:34 +0000

When I’m walking, it seems like all motorists either have their brains disengaged or have resolved to mow down as many pedestrians and bikes as they can. When I’m driving, I’m equally likely to get fed up with other motorists and with careless pedestrians and cyclists.

Maybe we need a new across-the-board policy to go with these new crosswalks: anybody violating somebody else’s right-of-way is fair game for assault by pudding balloon. This goes for motorists, pedestrians, cyclists, anybody!