The most-read story on Indianapolis’ Channel 6 website this morning who took the task of “completing the streets” into his own hands. Muncie resident and Ball State U. grad student Whitney Stump got tired of seeing cars constantly rolling through the stop signs in front of his house at a four-way intersection.
So he called the city, the street department, the sign shop — anyone he could find — to see if they could paint a crosswalk across the road at the stop sign, connecting the well-traveled sidewalks on each side of the busy residential street.
The city said that they only install crosswalks in residential areas where a school is nearby, and that his neighborhood didn’t qualify. So he went out, bought some paint, and painted a crosswalk himself.
And promptly got arrested (twice) for “criminal mischief,” even spending a few hours in jail for the work. So how did his neighbors feel about the ad hoc crosswalk installation? The reporter asked a neighbor if she thought he was in the wrong:
“Heavens to Betsy no! I told him to do the other three!”
“If they’re not going to provide a safe environment for me and my community,” Stump said, “I believe I have a moral obligation.”
Read the story, where you can also watch the video. (ed. note: SGA does not endorse criminal mischief or guerilla crosswalk-painting.)
The autocracy in this country is amazing. Cars are allowed to blow through stop signs, speed at will, do rolling stops if they’re turning right on a light, stop in the middle of crosswalks, etc. But as soon as someone tries to do something to protect citizens in their own neighborhood by slowing down cars, they get into trouble.
What is wrong with this picture? Why shouldn’t a neighborhood be allowed to show a little bit of sovereignty and install some measures to slow down traffic if they feel it’s in the best interest of the people who live there?
Right on, man! Take our cities and streets back! Keep up the fight! It’s about time someone stood up and took the infranstructure under their arm to care of.
So does Streetsblog have a public defense fund set up? If not, they should. I’d donate.