Crossing Broadway Street on foot is often a dangerous proposition and a particular stretch of the six-lane thoroughfare north of downtown has seen increased pedestrian traffic brought by The DoSeum, San Antonio’s new children’s museum.
City officials and construction personnel, gathered across Broadway Street from the DoSeum at Lions Field on Tuesday to celebrate the completion of the “Z-crossing,” a new type of crosswalk that provides refuge for pedestrians between busy traffic lanes.
The new Z-crossing aims to improve the safety of visitors and families traveling between the area’s cultural and recreational destinations. The crosswalk features brightly painted signs and blinking lights to signify pedestrian’s right-of-way. The crossing gets its name from the “Z” shape of the path that, instead of guiding pedestrians straight across the street, directs them to pause after three traffic lanes, walk parallel to traffic several feet, and then cross the remaining three.
During the ribbon-cutting ceremony on Tuesday morning, however, many drivers continued to ignore the blinking yield-to-pedestrian lights and 25 mph speed limits as they rushed down Broadway.
“As you can see, people are speeding past us right now, and that’s not necessarily what we want,” said Councilman Alan Warrick (D2).”We’re looking to have pedestrian guards over the coming weeks, just in time for spring break to ensure safe passage, as people adjust to the new crossing.”
The Z-crossing at Broadway is the first of three crosswalks that will be funded by the City and built by the D &G Energy Corporation this year. Additional crossings at Culebra Road and Commerce Street near Apache Park will be completed by late spring. Officials said that the crosswalks, which cost $375,000 total, “were pricy, but worth it.”
“How do we let people know that this is a safe place to cross? Through a combination of engineering and architecture,” said Councilman Roberto Treviño (D1), adding that improved signage will help boost public safety for drivers, pedestrians and cyclists. Treviño and Warrick share district boundaries that include the Broadway corridor.
For years, San Antonio has struggled with public road safety, but the City’s Vision Zero initiative adopted in late 2015 includes plans to educate pedestrians, cyclists, and motorists on the importance of traveling safely. The Z-crossings will build on the Vision Zero initiative, but city officials say that improved signage, PSAs, newsletters and continued outreach will help improve public safety in San Antonio.
“It’s going to take some time, but we hope that people will get the message,” said Councilman Treviño.
*Top image: DoSeum Executive Assistant Michael Garcia crosses the newly constructed z-crossing. Photo by Scott Ball.
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A real traffic light is needed at that crosswalk!
Placing this crosswalk signal at the intersection would have made a lot more sense. The intersection is about 200 ft away. The intersection has a traffic light already. This makes no sense and is a serious eyesore in front of a lovely designed building. I suspect that drivers are paying attention to the actual traffic light and look past the poorly placed crosswalk.
Ruth, you can’t actually put that at a traffic intersection. Drivers would just plow over it. And you’re right, the existing intersection is only about 200 ft away and provides a crosswalk for crossing and is where people are supposed to cross. But since that didn’t seem to be the case and people/families were running across at that location on Broadway where it was constructed, is why it was constructed to begin with.
Safer, in my opinion, to direct the pedestrian traffic where it belongs, at an intersection than to ask vehicle traffic to slow down in the middle of a busy block. Honestly, I think the placement speaks to how lazy we expect our residents to be, too lazy to walk 200 ft.
Haha, “serious eyesore”. It’s a crosswalk. Sorry if you think it’s so ugly that it makes your eyes hurt, but the design is intended to slightly ameliorate the atrocious number of human deaths caused by cars. And considering it connects a children’s museum with a playground, I’d say its location makes perfect sense.
Why wasn’t a HAWK crossing installed? This has been used on Fred Rd to allow crossing from a Senior Living Apartment Conplex.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/HAWK_beacon
I would actually like to see more of the HAWK beacon as a standard here. Given the wide streets and high speed traffic. It’s absolutely necessary IMO.
That’s because we hand out Drivers Liscenses at Costco in this city -.- smh
I wish there was a “Like” button for comments like these!
Oh, and with regards to the “Hawk” crossing on Fred Rd.? I have personally used that crosswalk, only to see some idiot drive right through that red light like it didn’t exist.
I’d like to see that entire stretch of broadway reduced to 25mph. Now, before you go squawking about how damn long it’ll take to drive, it takes exactly 41 seconds longer to drive a mile at 25mph vs 35mph. And I’m talking about a stretch shorter than a mile.
The City should implement that part of the Vision Zero plan that calls for reducing speed limits.
It’ll take some time, and maybe one or two pedestrian deaths.
25mph is stupid-build a pedestrian bridge either over or under Broadway-also there are lights/crosswalks at Mulberry/Broadway and Breckenridge Broadway
I always ride my bike on Broadway ‘ s poopy sidewalks to avoid all the crazy drivers rushing back to those god-forsaken suburbs.
Broadway is a 7-lane artery strewn with low-density development. Tarting it up as an urban street won’t change that fact.