We live in one of the most walkable neighborhoods in Rochester, yet we still have very few designated places for pedestrians to safely cross. There are crosswalks (not the stripey, noticeable kind, but the parallel line kind) at the traffic lights. But it’s rare to find them elsewhere. On Park Avenue, for example, you can either safely cross at Culver Rd or all the way down at Berkeley St. There are a lot of businesses in between, so people end up walking across willy-nilly at their own peril, rather than at some designated midway crosswalk between the two.

Traveling down Park Ave past Berkeley, you don’t have another light until Oxford Street, 7 blocks down. Midway here, there is a lone parallel crosswalk (not at a light) at Park Avenue Green on Barrington St. That is the street School 23 is on, so my hunch is it wouldn’t exist were it not for the school. This is also the infamous location of the “It’s a state law to yield to pedestrians” sign that is constantly being run down and smashed (perhaps an homage to where pedestrians fit in the pecking order around here).
[The featured picture above is the most recent one that was flattened. And it’s accompanying crosswalk with oh-so-eye-catching painted lines.]

The same pattern is present on East Avenue. No crosswalks except at the traffic intersections, which means to safely cross you have to spend an extra 10 minutes walking down to the next light or cross at your own risk. It’s a little bit different on East Ave, since there aren’t bars, restaurants and other businesses lining the street like on Park Ave. But lots of people live and work along East Ave, are out walking and running and still like to cross streets safely.
Another difference exists between the parallel stretches of East Ave and Park Ave — on Park Ave, drivers actually occasionally stop when they see pedestrians trying to cross. A lot of this has to do with the amount of parking and activity along Park Ave. Drivers have to drive slower and be more alert because there is on-street parking, people getting in and out of cars, people trying to get across, etc.

I contacted Erik Frisch, the City’s Transportation Specialist, about additional crosswalks to establish designated areas where pedestrians know to cross and drivers know to look for them. He said the reason they don’t exist on Park Ave currently is because they would require elimination of on-street parking spots. “Typically, crosswalks are 10 feet wide with no parking for 20 feet on either side of the crosswalk. That can equal up to six parking spaces lost (three on each side of the street).” And if you have ever tried to park along Park Ave during a lovely evening, you know how precious those spots are. So that may be a battle I won’t win, but it doesn’t mean it is not worth trying.

A crosswalk between Culver Rd and Berkeley on East Ave, on the other hand, does not face the parking spot dilemma. And, more importantly (as I mentioned before), it is a rare driver who stops to let a waiting pedestrian cross on East Ave between traffic lights. So I will start there, get my feet wet, learn the process and share my info with all of you.

[My apologies to all you graphic designers out there; these are screen captures from Google Maps with my little notes on them. I know they are not pretty, but I have a day job (and in case you couldn’t tell — I’m not a designer.)]