This article was originally posted on Nov. 10, 2014.
At their last meeting, the OB Planning Board held a discussion about a cross-walk at the intersection of Newport Avenue and Abbott Street.
John Ambert, Vice-chair of the board, gave a power-point presentation of an analysis having a cross-walk at that busy center of the beach.
Here, without significant comment or narration, is Ambert’s self-explanatory visual presentation:
First up – a traffic flow analysis. Red lines represent pedestrian movement.
Option number 1 – a simple ladder.
Option 2 – lights and signage. Remember these are just suggestions and options, not even recommendations.
Third option: a walkabout with two ladders. Communities up in LA are experimenting with similar types of cross-walks.
Fourth option with a mural – (image is just a place-setter, not a recommendation). Funds for the mural would have to be raised in OB. And OB would have to determine the mural. Now, this idea is also what folks in Pacific Beach did with one of their intersections.
This is what they painted in their intersection.
Here’s a fun alternative – paint the cross-walk in 3D paint.
Again, no decisions have been made. The Board is going to take a month to think about the project and begin to collect mural ideas.
Hey, let’s have an OB mural contest!
{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
Thank you, John Ambert, for pushing the community into a real discussion with visuals.
Thanks for info.
Like the walkabout with two lighted crosswalks. The walkabout with a design of stones and pavers since paint will only fade, chip and get dirty.
Thank you Mr Ambert for all the talented efforts.
Have there been pedestrian safety issues there? I’ve never felt nervous crossing at that corner. Do other people feel unsafe? Is this a solution looking for a problem?
Thanks for all the hard work.
I’ll definitely be at the next planning board meeting and I look forward to hearing a debate about stop lights or stop signs or murals or whatever it is the community decides upon.
Maybe we can get a Graffiti Artist to paint the mural.
Hey Frank – whatever happened with this idea? Still needed, IMHO.
You’re right. The individuals who championed this have moved on, but it doesn’t mean it’s a bad idea.
3D paint would be sweet. There needs to be something, just to reign in the ‘chaos’. Most folks seem to go from the sidewalk on Newport across Abbot, so I am going with option 1. Lights are a bit unnecessary, as traffic is already going pretty slow through there (unlike Sunset Cliffs Blvd.)