Community Redevelopment Board
On December 1, 2020, the Community Redevelopment Board recommended approval to allocate CRA funds in the amount of $75,000 for the East Stuart Crosswalks Project.
Summary
The City and CRA are undertaking infrastructure improvements in the East Stuart neighborhood to improve the appearance of the road and visibility of pedestrian crosswalks by installing high-visibility crosswalk markings.
The City's Public Works Departments will be repairing and resurfacing streets within the East Stuart neighborhood as part of their Annual Pavement Maintenance Program (Zone maps attached). The pavement maintenance project in Zone 3 began in mid-November and expected to be completed in February 2021. The resurfacing work will remove the existing crosswalk markings.
There are 38 crosswalks identified within the East Stuart neighborhood as part of the project. The CRA is proposing to enhance the traditional crosswalk markings to the high-visibility marking pattern to improve pedestrian safety and driver awareness of pedestrian presence within the neighborhood.
The benefits of high-visibility crosswalks include:
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Improve pedestrian safety
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Increase visibility of crosswalks
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Call driver’s attention to people crossing
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Avoids drivers from stopping into crosswalks
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Reduce pedestrian-vehicle crashes
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Improve the appearance of the neighborhood
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Provide fun and safe crossings in the neighborhood for students along the school walking route
Several studies and facts indicate the reasons to install high-visibility crosswalks:
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According to FHWA, high-visibility crosswalks can reduce pedestrian crashes by 23-48%
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FDOT recommends using high-visibility crosswalks within 1-mile of all schools
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More cost effective compared to adding substantial crossing treatments such as raised median, traffic and pedestrian signals
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Minimal maintenance for striped crosswalks compared to brick pavers
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Brick pavers are not highly visible - particularly at night, in the rain and over time as they lose contract with the surrounding street
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24” solid longitudinal lines will be spaced to avoid the wheel paths and reduce cracking and visibility of crosswalk
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Drivers traveling at 30 mph have eight additional seconds of awareness of crossing pedestrians
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Acts as traffic calming and lowers speeding in the neighborhood
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Safe Routes to School recommends high visibility crosswalks in or near school zones or at key crossing in neighborhoods to support safe walking routes for students
The estimated costs to install the high-visibility crosswalks is $75,000. The new crosswalks will be installed in March/April 2021, soon after the resurfacing project is completed.
The color markings will be the same material that the City recently used for the green bike lanes along Colorado Avenue and the crosswalk on N Dixie Hwy (by the Sailor's Return restaurant). The MMA road markings is highly durable, skid resistance and provide color stability over the lifecycle of the markings and requires little maintenance.