City Orders ‘Mystery’ Crosswalk Removed

No one in City Hall remembers how, when or why a pedestrian crosswalk was painted on busy Walker Street at Bransford Drive.

But everyone seems to agree with Public Works Director Ismile H. Noorbaksh that the crosswalk serves no purpose and could be dangerous.

“For a number of years, [city] staff has not observed anyone using the existing crosswalk,” Noorbaksh said.

And because there is no traffic signal at the intersection, the crosswalk is a safety hazard, he said.

At his recommendation, the City Council took the unusual action of ordering that the markings be deleted.

“Since 1960, a number of pedestrian studies have concluded that at unsignalized locations, marked crosswalks account for more pedestrian accidents than similar unmarked locations,” Noorbaksh said. “Also, a marked crosswalk tends to provide a false sense of security.”

The public works director said that how the Walker-Bransford crosswalk got there in the first place is a mystery.

There is no Public Works Department record of its establishment, Noorbaksh said, and “long-term employees are also not aware of the background.”

Current repaving work on Walker Street will cover the painted lines of the crosswalk. The City Council’s vote means that they will not be replaced.

“I never figured out what it was doing there,” Mayor Duane Schuster said.