The City of Kalamazoo is reviving an effort to make crosswalks safer. It’s replacing flexible posts in the crossings that tell drivers to stop for walkers, as required by city code.
Kalamazoo first installed markers in the road last year but many lay in pieces by the spring. Assistant City Engineer Anthony Ladd says he expected some attrition.
“The hope is that over time driver behavior will adjust to the ordinance, to these signs, so that the road is safer for everyone,” Ladd told WMUK.
He added that the signs are meant to catch distracted drivers’ attention.
“If a sign is hit, maybe that would be a word of caution or a prevention from a pedestrian being hit in the future,” he said.
The signs are part of a years-long effort to make Kalamazoo’s streets friendlier to non-motor users.