[B’ Spokes: There is no doubt in my mind that drivers need to be educated on their responsibilities to other road users that are not cars. A modest effort by the city toward this end will benefit both cyclists and pedestrians.
But the City seems to be totally clueless to it’s obligations to provide "the best engineering practices regarding the needs of bicycle riders and pedestrians shall be employed" as required by law.* The City neglects to put in crosswalks (as in this article) and if they do install a crosswalk, it is too often the lest effective traverse marking kind.**
The result is 32% of all of Maryland pedestrian crashes are right here in Baltimore City. ***
That is not just a little bad, that is really bad. There is no justification for not installing crosswalks in Baltimore!
Baltimore, Get a clue and if you don’t like the DIY crosswalk then just put in a better one.]
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By Adam Bednar, Patch
Lou Catelli stood at the corner of Elm Avenue and West 36th Street late Wednesday morning showing off his handiwork from the night before.
At the intersection were three freshly spray painted crosswalks and stop lines at the intersection Catelli painted himself. After Hampden residents and businesses grew tired of asking the city to repaint the street following a repaving this summer, Catelli decided to take matters into his own hands.
At about 12:30 a.m. Wednesday, armed with some Sambuca, a striper and four cans of white spray paint bought from Falkenhan’s Hardware, Catelli went to work making the intersection safer.
“It’s for the children,” Catelli said only partially joking.
Catelli described the intersection as "dangerous." Since the city has made it a four way stop, some drivers still don’t realize they have to halt and just cruise through. A few minutes before, while standing at the intersection, a young woman in a black car drove through without even hitting her brakes.
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Adrienne Barnes, a spokeswoman for the Baltimore City Department of Transportation, said the city agency took a dim view of the DIY street improvement.
"This is not something we’re very happy about," Barnes said.
She said residents are not permitted to do work on city streets because of liability concerns. She said the department would have to investigate whether or not it would or could take civil or criminal action against those that participated in the painting.
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Benn Ray, president of the Hampden Village Merchants Association, said the Baltimore City Department of Transportation’s lack of response to merchants and residents pleading for the cross walks and yellow striped centerlines have forced actions such as Catelli’s.
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Councilwoman Mary Pat Clarke, who represents most of the area, said the crosswalks, centerlines and bike lanes on West 36th Street haven’t been repainted because the contractor who repaved the street this summer has been unable to complete the job.
She said with so many schools in the area that getting crosswalks repainted should be a top priority, but that she has been told by Director Kahlil Zaied the repainting couldn’t be done in cold weather. Clarke also said she sent an email warning Zaied that residents have been threatening they would take action if the city didn’t act soon.
As for any repercussions for Catelli and his co-conspirators, Clarke said that was highly unlikely.
"I can’t imagine such a thing. We should be thanking them and apologizing for our contractors," Clarke said.
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Continue reading “Hampden’s DIY Crosswalks”
