City dwellers residing in the vicinity of Franklin and Turk streets can be forgiven for peering out their windows and experiencing a sense of déjà vu. City crews recently tore up and rebuilt the sidewalk roughly a year after tearing up and rebuilding the sidewalk and just over two years after tearing up and rebuilding the sidewalk.
There is, however, an explanation for this. Or at least some of this.
The most recent work was the installation of a pedestrian bulb, an extension of the sidewalk into the parking lane, shortening the distance required for pedestrians to cross the street.
That's well and good — but area residents couldn't help but notice that the new bulb required the obliteration and reinstallation of a wheelchair access ramp installed in 2012, as well as the replacement of a sidewalk itself replaced in late 2013 for electrical traffic signal work.
Bulbs are the city's new favorite method of ensuring pedestrian safety. Department of Public Works spokeswoman Rachel Gordon says to expect many more streets to be upgraded with one. These upgrades will supersede prior upgrades — even ones undertaken mere months ago.
You can't put a price on safety. But you can put one on a pedestrian bulb — $30,000, in this case.
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