DEPARTMENT: City Manager’s Office
DEPARTMENT HEAD: Peter Zanoni
COUNCIL DISTRICTS IMPACTED: Council District 1
SUBJECT:
Installation of a Rainbow-Themed Crosswalk at Main Avenue
SUMMARY:
On June 16, 2017, Councilmember Roberto Trevino issued a Council Consideration Request (CCR) requesting the creation and installation of a Pride-themed rainbow crosswalk on N. Main Avenue at W. Evergreen Street.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
The City of San Antonio’s annual Pavement Markings Program includes re-striping crosswalks along identified corridors that are scheduled for street maintenance. In addition, the City re-stripes crosswalks around all schools on a three-year cycle.
The combined budget for these infrastructure improvements currently is $2 million annually. The City follows Federal and State traffic control guidelines in its installation of crosswalks.
According to the CCR, the Main Avenue “Strip” has been the center of the LGBT community in San Antonio for several years and has been the site of the annual Pride Parade, also known as “Pride Bigger than Texas”. The CCR also stated that the request for a pride themed rainbow crosswalk is to promote a message of inclusion and tolerance while providing pedestrian safety.
On Saturday, July 1, ahead of the “Pride Bigger than Texas” parade, volunteers installed a temporary rainbow-themed Pride Crosswalk using chalk. It was swept off the street the following morning as part of the City’s overall cleaning of the parade route. The crosswalk was not subject to vehicular traffic as the intersection was barricaded for the parade.
ISSUE:
As referenced in the attached Governance memo by the Transportation & Capital Improvements Department (TCI), the City Engineer’s recommendation is not supportive of installing a rainbow-themed crosswalk at Main Avenue. TCI does not recommend or support any permanent art installation on roadway crosswalks as changes made to crosswalk traffic code standards are believed to create a distraction and safety hazard for pedestrians, bicyclists, and motorists.
It is the recommendation of the City Manager’s Office, however, to pilot a rainbow-themed crosswalk at Main Avenue. TCI is in the process of developing performance metrics and duration time for the pilot project. The pilot results would be taken to the City Council Transportation Committee for future policy direction.
The six cities of Atlanta, Houston, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco, and Seattle all have installed rainbow-themed crosswalks. Two of the six cities, New York and Atlanta, have reported no incidents within the rainbow-themed crosswalks. The City of Seattle reported a single incident that resulted only in damage to a scooter that was clipped by a vehicle that violated a “No Turn on Red” sign prohibition. City staff is still working to obtain incident data from Houston, Philadelphia, and San Francisco.
Additionally, a report from Edmonton, Canada found that the rainbow-themed crosswalks did not decrease pedestrian safety and that rainbow crosswalks made intersections safer and were not a distraction. Data collected through traffic monitoring showed vehicles were 50% more likely to roll through a crosswalk without rainbow-themed coloring.
ALTERNATIVES:
The Governance Committee could choose not to advance the Council Consideration Request to a Council Committee for further discussion, but this would not promote Councilman Trevino’s message of inclusion and tolerance.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The funding for the installation of the rainbow-themed crosswalk would come from two sources. The City would fund, from the General Fund, the base costs to re-stripe the four sides of the crosswalk at the signalized intersection. The base costs would be the unit-rate to install a traditional white crosswalk. Privately raised funds would be used to fund added installation expenses from a greater striped area and costs associated with color used in a rainbow-themed crosswalk.
RECOMMENDATION:
The City Manager’s Office recommends a pilot program for the installation of a rainbow-themed Crosswalk at N. Main Avenue and W. Evergreen Street. The pilot results would be taken to the City Council Transportation Committee for future policy direction.