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Presenter urges asphalt mural, pedestrian refuge at Portage and Maine to slow traffic
Summary
A local organizer told the Niagara City Council an asphalt mural and pedestrian refuge funded by a Bloomberg Philanthropies grant would address high speeds and collisions at the Portage and Maine intersection; the project is fully grant-funded and city departments have reviewed it, the presenter said.
Saladin Allah, a local organizer, told the Niagara City Council on the evening meeting that an asphalt mural and a small pedestrian refuge are a traffic-safety intervention for the intersection where Portage and Maine meet near the public library and the white coffee shop. "This asphalt mural project does not cost the city a dime," he said, adding the work is paid for by a competitive Bloomberg Philanthropies grant.
The speaker said he and collaborators gathered three months of traffic-observation data showing an average speed of 41 miles per hour through the intersection and submitted crash-history information and a city-produced high-injury map that highlights the location. "One of the things that we learned is that the average speed of cars traveling through that intersection is 41 miles an hour," Allah said. He also told council members most pedestrian crossings there are informal because there are no marked crosswalks and that the design will include a small island as a pedestrian refuge for people who cannot cross in one signal interval.
Why the council should consider the installation now, he said, is that nothing has changed since the group first presented the plan in July 2023 and the intersection remains hazardous. "The question is, what has happened since July 23 to today to mitigate the danger that still exists in that intersection? Nothing has happened," he said.
Allah said the city administration and the adjacent departments needed to install the project have reviewed and supported the proposal, and that the planned curb and ADA work is already funded through the state's Downtown Revitalization Initiative (DRI) allocation. He estimated the mural painting itself would take roughly five days of good weather and emphasized the grant covers the project costs.
He asked the council to place the item on the next council agenda for formal approval; he told the body he expected the item to appear on the June 4 agenda so the city could move forward.
Discussion-only: Allah presented traffic observations and injury data and advocated for the mural as a safety measure; the council did not vote on the proposal at the meeting. No formal action or funding from the city's operating budget was approved at this session.
Ending: The presenter left his contact information with council staff and said he would follow up about placement on the June 4 agenda. Council members said they would speak with administration and departments about the installation before any formal vote.
