What’s good for the moose is good for the ambulator (photo by Ashley Drewes)
Have you seen the moose? If not, you may have seen a new sign posted on Main St., facing the intersection with Market St., which reads “Moose Crossing.” It was placed about two weeks ago. The sign was created by a local high school student through a community art project designed to encourage civic engagement and initiated by local artist Ze’ev Willy Neumann. “Willy,” as he’s known to friends, has placed similar signs before, urging vehicles to slow down and watch for pedestrians. This latest sign shares a similar sentiment but expressed with a bit of humor. Says Neumann, “Drivers don’t pay attention to people, but they pay attention to moose.”
Neumann said there will be many more signs to come, but probably no more alluding to moose.
This isn’t the first time the artist has vented his irritation at speedy thru-traffic with whimsical public signage, but he’s bringing a new urgency to it following the tragic death of Robert Carlson, 57, who was struck and killed by a truck at the intersection of Main and Partition on Jan. 30.