Tacoma, Wash. — Since May, counterfeit crosswalks have appeared at six intersections across the city of Tacoma. A group of concerned citizens have painted them on busy streets where they felt pedestrians could use the extra protection. "It was awesome. I thought the city had come out and placed something on. I'm like great a crosswalk and all of a sudden ... no they come up and tear it up," said Kenneth Brogdon, who saw the markings near Wright Park.
The city of Tacoma said it cost about $1,200 to clean up the paint at each intersection and if the people who painted the markings are found they will be prosecuted. "When we install markings on the roadway we want to ensure they do meet the national standards so that they are recognizable to both pedestrians and drivers as crosswalks," said Josh Diekmann, a traffic engineer for the Department of Public Works. He said the city doesn't have any immediate plans to put new crosswalks where the counterfeit crosswalks were painted. It's estimated that painting new crosswalks cost about $4,000 per intersection. "We'll continue to make school crosswalks a priority," added Diekmann.
Elizabeth Burris of the New Tacoma Community Council doesn't think the city should prosecute the crosswalk painters. "Let's first talk about some possible solutions before we jump to the gun of possible prosecution," said Burris. She's helping to organize a public forum on the crosswalk issues. It will be held at Tacoma City Hall at 5 p.m. Wednesday. Burris also agrees that the intersections where the citizens painted the crosswalks are very dangerous. "Many times I got up there for walks and people barrel down Sixth Avenue as well," added Burris.
"We're very interested in hearing from the community and hearing what the community's priorities are," said Diekmann.
KIRO
