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Some downtown crosswalks closed
Mid-block action irritates retailers
By Elizabeth White
Deseret News staff writer
The orange flags meant to keep pedestrians safe when crossing the street are nowhere to be found at some downtown crosswalks.
Cheap Olympic souvenirs for cash-strapped visitors? Not quite.
The city has closed five downtown mid-block crosswalks in the interest of pedestrian safety, but business owners near the closures at 50 W. 100 South between West Temple and Main Street are decrying the move, saying it's decreasing foot traffic to their stores.
"Most people don't go to the corner and come back," said Richard Wirick, owner of the Oxford Shop, 57 W. 100 South. "If they can't cross the crosswalk, they just continue on . . . 90 percent of the business comes from Crossroads Mall (across the street)."
Wirick, who also is the public relations officer for the Downtown Merchants Association, said the closure is particularly maddening because three longtime vacancies at neighboring stores were filled within the past two months.
Buses traveling on 100 South from the Main Media Center at the Salt Palace have created the hazard at the nonsignaled crosswalk, said Jerry Blair, an Olympic transportation planner for Salt Lake City.
Pedestrians are at risk of walking from a lane where many buses are parked to one where they are moving and cannot see oncoming pedestrians, he said. There are between 3,500 and 4,000 bus trips a day to the Main Media Center, he said.
The other four nonsignaled closed crosswalks are on 200 South at 50 East near the Bud World entrance at the Gallivan Center, on 300 South near the Rose Wagner Center at 138 W., another on 300 South between Main Street and West Temple, and another on 100 South at 50 East between State and Main Streets, near Martine restaurant and the Deseret News.
"I see people using the crosswalks all the time," Martine cook Dave Jones said.
Tim Harpst, transportation director for the city, said crews have removed the pedestrian flags and placed signs to deter residents from using the walks. The crosswalks were closed just before the Games began, he said. They will open again Feb. 25.
"I think their concerns for safety are backfiring on them because people are using them anyway, and they've taken the flags away," said Pam O'Mara, owner of UTah Artist Hands, which is just west of the Oxford shoe store. O'Mara said she's also concerned about the buses blocking the view of her store and making the street look like an inaccessible alleyway.
Bettina Giannakouros, who works at the next-door Hellenic Cultural Ministry, which has displays about the upcoming 2004 Summer Games in Athens, said she isn't complaining but just wants more exposure to the crowds that migrate up and down Main Street.
Wirick proposes a stop sign be put at the crosswalk for the remainder of the Games, but Blair said that wouldn't guarantee that pedestrians would be seen or that vehicles would stop.
"To allow people to cross in that area just is not possible," Blair said.
Harpst said the city would be willing to post signs for the stores to help encourage customer visits, and he's waiting for more information to move forward with that project.
E-MAIL: lwhite@desnews.com
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February 18, 2002
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