Selma City begins third tactical urbanism pilot using bright crosswalks, raised markers to slow traffic near school

Graciela Aguilar, a representative of A and M Consulting Engineers, said Selma City is implementing the third pilot of its tactical urbanism project to "improve pedestrian and bicycle safety." She said the pilot site sits near a park and a school where students frequently use the crosswalks and the changes are intended to make those crossings safer.

The pilot includes a themed, brightly colored crosswalk designed to make the crossing more visible. "With doing a thematic crosswalk, we're hoping the bright colors will help bring more attention to the crosswalk," Aguilar said. The team is also installing raised pavement markers that Aguilar identified as "bot dots," which she said are intended to "disrupt the driver's everyday routine" so drivers slow down.

In addition to color and raised markers, Aguilar said the pilot adds hardened center lines to the roadway as a traffic-safety measure meant to address speed and to "break the driver's natural attention span" by changing how drivers experience the lane. She described the interventions as different, short-term treatments that the city can test quickly.

The pilot is funded through a "sustainable transportation grant" awarded to the city. "With that money the city can do these pilot studies and then from the data collected of these pilot studies, we can apply for permanent infrastructure solutions," Aguilar said. No dollar amounts, timelines for evaluation, or implementation dates were provided in the presentation.