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New crosswalk set at St. Francis

 

The oft-repaired flashing crosswalk on West Napa Street in front of St. Francis Solano Catholic Church will be replaced - probably some time this week.

Milenka Bates, Sonoma's public works director, said the city will be replacing the crosswalk this week with a different type of unit that flashes overhead.

"We've had a lot of issues with that crosswalk," Bates said. "We've replaced it twice and repaired it more times than I can count."

The city had to go through Caltrans for its approval since Napa Street is a state highway.

Bates said there had been problems with three of the six flashing crosswalks. And it has already replaced the crosswalk on Fifth Street West by Sassarini Elementary School and the crosswalk on the bike path crossing on Fifth Street West.

"The one on West Napa was the worst by far," Bates said. "It's an expensive maintenance item for us."

The new flashers, which will be mounted on a pole on the side of the road and light up when someone is crossing, will run somewhere between $10,000 and $15,000 depending on the labor.

Bates wants to remind pedestrians not to use the crosswalks blindly, that even after activating the crosswalk, they should make eye contract with the motorist.

"You want to make sure the driver will stop," she said. "Just because the lights are flashing, it doesn't always mean the driver has seen them."