Midtown crosswalk lacks ramps, blocked by parked car
Everywhere I turn I encounter crosswalk issues. On Monday I brought you the finally corrected crosswalk on Delmar. From the 2nd floor terrace of the Pultizer Foundation I noticed a bad crosswalk on Washington Ave in Midtown:
Neither side has curb cuts and a car is parked blocking the crosswalk!
From the street level we can see the car parked so it fully blocks the crosswalk. The sign indicates parking is permitted in both directions.
What needs to happen is to bulb out the curb both the width of the parking lane and crosswalk. A channel can be left to allow rainwater in the gutter to drain. The bulb out would do a few things: 1) the ramp could be within the bulb rather than cut back into the existing sidewalk, 2) the bulb would prevent motorists from accidentally blocking the crosswalk and 3) the bulbs would shorten the distance to cross the street. The current situation cannot continue.
– Steve Patterson
Random thoughts . . . rules without enforcement have no value. Parking enforcement in St. Louis is sparodic, at best, compared to other major cities. If we had real parking nazis, and situations like this resulted in $200 tickets and/or actually being towed*, then they'd happen a lot less frequently.
Two, mid-block crosswalks are inherently dangerous for pedestrians. Motorists don't expect them, and even if they're well-marked, the chances of being hit are significantly higher than crossing at the corner. Is that “fair”? No, but it's reality.
What, no comment on the lack of wheelchair ramps here? Nor any recomendation to include them in your proposed bulbouts? 😉
And four, bulbouts add their own hazards when the parking spaces aren't occupied. Smoking Joe's at 1901 Washington is the worst current example, where their bulb-out patio area has been hit several times by inattatentive/impaired drivers. If the bulbouts happen with predictable regularity, creating a street with parking pockets, then sure, they can be a good thing. But just putting one randomly, like you're proposing here, creates significant liability for the city.
*The law in Denver is that areas marked for “No Parking” can also be designated a “Tow-Away Zone”, if the parked vehicle would create a hazard. Tow Away Zones allow double fines, so, guess what, even though most cars aren't actually towed, they do get hit with the higher fines, and people pay more attention, plus it's more money for the city.
Funny thing you should mention stringent parking enforcement in other cities. My wofe and I spent last wknd in DC. As we were leaving in the am on Monday (I drove out; my wife took a plane), I had parked my car in a zone which was restricted to those who had the proper permit. I was only intending to park there for the few minutes it took to load up the car, and we'd be gone. Well, got the car loaded, and my wife and one of our friends were saying their final goodbyes, and a parking enforcement officer drove up. I am firmly convinced that had it not been for the light changing at the corner, and the resultant rush of cars, that jerk would have blocked us in, and ticketed us. Now, that is hardcore. And just what this podunk burg needs.
Yeah, don't mess with the parking enforcement officers in DC.
Maybe *some*people don't care about the rules regarding on street parking because they yellow off areas of the street for seemingly arbitrary reasons.
Well to me it looks like this is a new cross walk and that maybe they have plans to put a ramp in, but i guess the city has to call you up a tell you from now on that they are putting a ramp in. Just sayin.