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What is cost of keeping crosswalk on Camp Arrowhead Road?

June 7, 2021

Sometimes, common sense seems simple and intuitive, maybe too simple for some highly educated minds.

Look at the location of this infamous crosswalk at the notorious S-curve on Camp Arrowhead Road in the Angola area. Anyone would gasp, but not some traffic engineers! Are they taking this as a challenge to engineer safety at this location?

Has DelDOT calculated the expense of keeping this crosswalk, not only of the greenbacks, but also the potential cost of the loss of human life? What about the traffic interference of four weeks during the installation of the beacons? Who pays for the maintenance and replacement if the beacons get knocked down by accidents?

Just how many people are they serving with this crosswalk?

Then, there is a question as to how trustworthy those flashing beacons are in the S-curve with short distance of visibility. The burden of safety is now shifted from the drivers to the pedestrians. The beacons work only when the button is pushed and yet the pedestrian must wait until after the trucks and cars that are in the braking distance from the crosswalk pass before crossing.

• What if a pedestrian is not aware of the button or forgets to push it, and the drivers do not expect anyone in the crosswalk?  

• Will children on bikes even bother with the button?  

• What if the person could not finish crossing for some reason, such as falling or dropping something and having to pick it up, before the beacon is done flashing?

• What if a big construction vehicle in the front is obstructing the view of the flashing beacon?

• What if the beacon is down or malfunctions?  

I would be worried about getting rear-ended when stopping in the curve. Wouldn’t you?

Eul Lee
Angola

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