By Chris Lewis | July 8, 2021
The City is looking for more answers regarding their crosswalks.
During the most recent Mount Pearl City council meeting on Tuesday, June 29, councillor Bill Antle spurred a discussion regarding the City’s crosswalks, which he says have been a point of contention for many residents who have reached out to him.
The number one question he said he has heard on the subject is when exactly crosswalks in the City will be finished and painted, noting that in some areas there is naught but two white lines with nothing filled in to signify it as a proper crosswalk.
Deputy Mayor Jim Locke stated that painting had been done on the City’s rainbow crosswalks. As for the two solid line issue, Locke said that is something they had done in years past as well, deciding against using the regular crosshatch design seen on other regular crosswalks.
This, he said, was a cost-saving measure and was a standard practice country-wide.
Antle was still concerned about the crosswalk located along Park Avenue, where the trail intersects with Park Place.
“There’s only two white lines there and residents tell me it’s hard to see with the lights flashing,” Antle said.
This is something Locke felt would be appropriate to bring back to the City’s public works committee.
Mayor Dave Aker chimed in as well, suspecting there was a little more to the double line crosswalk issue.
“My understanding was when you cross a road that is perpendicular to an intersection, it’s just the white lines,” he said. “But, when you traverse a major road, quite often the blocks are put there.”
As such, Antle felt as though this particular crosswalk at the very least needed those crosshatch blocks, to which Locke agreed would be brought back to the committee for further review and discussion.
Aker also highlighted a crosswalk at the corner of Smallwood Drive that had the blocks instead of just two white lines, furthering his earlier point.
Locke stated the next meeting of the committee would be held on the following day, June 30, at which point the department would take a closer look at some of the crosswalks.
