"This Is The Place," Crosswalks: Part II

I am pleased to report that the streets of Salt Lake City, Utah are beautifully decorated with REAL brick crosswalks! And believe it or not, there appear to be no instances of buckling. In fact, the condition of these crosswalks remains superb, the color in tact: such are the wonders of AUTHENTIC clay bricks. (Don't tell the folks at "StreetPrint"!) Crossing the street has never been so enjoyable.

Pedestrian safety is at an all time high in Salt Lake, thanks to the city’s (unapologetically liberal) mayor, Rocky Anderson. Pedestrian climate became a top city priority when Anderson took office in January of 2000. For years, Salt Lake has utilized a series of yellow chirping speakers, strategically placed alongside pedestrian traffic lights, in an effort to accommodate the city’s visually impaired citizens.

More recently, Mayor Anderson has implemented a system of "crosswalk flags" with the hope of reducing pedestrian involved accidents by increasing the visibility of pedestrians. One simply removes a bright orange flag from a receptacle at one end of a crosswalk, walks across the street, and replaces the flag in a matching receptacle before continuing along, merrily, merrily. The city currently maintains 40 flag crossing locations in the downtown area. Failure to yield to a disabled person in a crosswalk results in a $250 fine (raised from $100, prior to Anderson’s tenure).

Additionally, Salt Lake City sports a number of *clearly* marked bicycle lanes, which have served to end local skirmishes in the nation-wide civil war between motorists and cyclists. These bicycle lanes also promote alternative modes of transportation, part of Mayor Anderson's ongoing campaign to reduce carbon dioxide emissions in the city.

So how does this add up? Well, in 1999, the Ogden-Salt Lake City Metro Area was rated the 12th most deadly area in the nation for pedestrians. Since Mayor Anderson implemented the Pedestrian Safety Initiative, however, there have been ZERO pedestrian fatalities in Salt Lake City. In the program’s first two years alone, the Salt Lake City Police Department reported a citywide pedestrian accident rate reduction of 16%. Such dramatic improvements in pedestrian ambiance (augmented by stunning, authentic brick crosswalks and scenic mountain vistas) make the sidewalks of Salt Lake City some of the most enticing promenades in the United States.


For more information on Salt Lake City's pedestrian legislation, please click here: Salt Lake City Department of Transportation

Also, please submit your own appraisals of national and international pedestrian thoroughfares to "Shoot The Piano Player." I look forward to hearing from you!