In the dead of night last Thursday, an unknown vandal armed with white spray paint defaced Main Street near Church Street in New Paltz with the outline of a crosswalk. Town Supervisor Neil Bettez confirmed Sunday morning that the crosswalk had been painted over by the State Department of Transportation.
The art installation was two parallel lines stretching from the eastern corner of Church and Main across to one side of the entrance to the parking lot on the other side of the street, with connecting lines painted across at intervals in the familiar pattern of an actual crosswalk. Deputy Mayor Alex Wojcik posted about it Friday, August 11, speculating that it was either public art or guerilla theater about traffic safety. Wojcik was reminded of the many requests made by village officials to prioritize pedestrian safety using traffic-calming measures and crosswalks, and how those efforts have repeatedly been rebuffed.
Others were not as charitable. Lively discussions in New Paltz-focused Facebook groups suggested that most social media users are not amused. The painting was called dangerous, a disaster waiting to happen and irresponsible. A smaller number commenting poked fun at those who expressed fear and worry, or expressed that the fact that people have been crossing there for decades suggests that a crosswalk is needed. Some called pedestrians lazy for not wanting to head to the corners with crosswalks several hundreds of yards away in either direction, and were schooled on the legal concept of an “unmarked crosswalk” that is in state law. No one seems to know whether illegally marking an unmarked crosswalk means that it’s no longer a legally unmarked crosswalk, however.
The flurry of comments also revealed the amount of confusion around the many layers of government in New York. Attempts to tag elected officials and speculation about lawsuits included the village, town and county governments, but none of those has any control over that stretch of road. It’s a state road all the way to the Chestnut Street intersection, and it’s state transportation officials who have routinely turned down requests for additional crosswalks, pedestrian bulb-outs, a reduced speed limit and other ideas. While “complete streets” is purportedly the law in New York, New Paltz officials feel that the people at the Department of Transportation consistently prioritize the needs of drivers to the detriment of other road users.
“I would certainly like more crosswalks, especially downtown, because getting people out of their cars is good for the planet and for our local businesses, “said New Paltz Town Supervisor Neil Bettez on Sunday. “But it needs to be done with safety not just convenience in mind, or it won’t work.
The incident is being investigated by New Paltz Police, the supervisor said.
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