Save the Mentor Ave. Crosswalk
Satellite image of the old crosswalk
Courtesy of Google maps
The City wants to eliminate a marked crosswalk at the intersection of N. Mentor Ave. and Orange Grove, one block east of Lake. They have to notify the public first and we have until January 4, 2021 to tell the City to keep the crosswalk. Currently, the intersection has been repaved and re-striped, but the crosswalk has not been repainted.
As the City continues to finish the repaving and re-striping of Orange Grove, we have been pleased to see that they are now using the continental style crosswalk most widely known from the Beatles’ “Abbey Road” album cover. This is the preferred option for crosswalks since they are more easily seen by drivers and clearly show where pedestrians can be expected to cross a street. We applaud the City for adopting this form of crosswalk as the new default in Pasadena. Many other cities across the country have adopted this style for new or repainted crosswalks, including our neighbors in the City of Los Angeles.
Continental Crosswalk
Orange Grove and Garfield
It is important to note that the corners at any intersection are considered crosswalks in California, whether the crosswalk is marked or not. Marking a crosswalk enhances the visibility of the crossing, but marking it does not add to a pedestrian’s right to cross there. It does add to the safety of the crossing. Ask yourself if you’d rather cross a street with a marked crosswalk or a street without one.? Would you prefer a marked crosswalk for your child or your grandmother?
City flyer taped to a pole
Easy to miss unless you get very close
The City taped flyers to poles at the intersection in early December, giving notice that feedback on the removal of the crosswalk would be accepted prior to 5:00 pm on January 4, 2021 as required by state law. City staff plan to direct pedestrians walking on Mentor to divert a block to Lake Avenue to cross and then come back to Mentor if they wish to continue on Mentor. This may be fine for an able bodied person, but what about our older neighbors or people with disabilities? Even for the able bodied, is it likely or reasonable to ask someone to walk and extra block and back so that they can cross the street (especially given the crossing at Mentor is legal)? We don’t agree with this approach. The City should be supporting and enhancing existing crosswalks to make them even safer, instead of directing pedestrians to effectively take a detour to cross the street. Further, the City should be adding marked crosswalks where there are currently none. There are numerous locations on Orange Grove that lack a marked crosswalk and which are quite far from a signalized intersection.
Mentor before and now.
Even the old crosswalk was better than no crosswalk
Removing an existing crosswalk is a step backwards. We urge you to contact the City at hlao@cityofpasadena.net before 5:00 pm on January 4th. Tell the City to keep the crosswalk at Mentor and Orange Grove. Please cc us info@pasadenacsc.org. Feel free to use these talking points or your own:
Mentor at Orange Grove is a legal place to cross and should remain with a marked crosswalk.
It’s unreasonable to expect people to walk to Lake to cross, especially older residents or people with a disability.
Improve the crosswalk, don’t remove it.
If anything, more marked crosswalks should be added along Orange Grove.
The new continental crosswalks are much better. We want more.
