If crosswalks aren’t just white paint, but exist at every corner, what do you do? If you’re a driver, how do you know when to stop for someone crossing the street? If you’re on foot, how do you know when to step out into traffic? But, as the recent statewide crosswalk safety campaign will tell you, “Every corner is a crosswalk.”įor many people, the official state law remains difficult to understand. The more you look at them, the more the science of crosswalks is not that simple. At first glance, crosswalks are just some white paint on the asphalt. The tragedy of the Macalester crosswalks prompts the question: Do crosswalks actually improve safety? Crosswalks 101 Welna hopes that this new crosswalk technique will finally provide safe passage for the hundreds of people trying to cross Snelling.
#CROSSWALKS ARE OFTEN MARKED WITH INSTALL#
After months of lobbying the Minnesota Department of Transportation, Welna has gotten permission to install a high-visibility pedestrian activated (or HAWK) signal at Lincoln Avenue. The next step for Welna and Macalester College is to redesign the crosswalks yet again. Paul Walks, recently joined the effort and has launched a citywide campaign to increase awareness of the problem. Paul. But so far, as people continue to get hit while trying to cross the street, the efforts have seemed fruitless. Welna blames frenetic driving and a culture of entitlement to the public roads, and he has desperately tried to improve driving safety in St. Over the years that he has been working with the Macalester area, Welna has seen many students, employees and neighborhood residents get hit or killed by cars.