Normally, “Eyes on the Street” is celebrating the installation of some new infrastructure, high-tech bus stop, or something else to celebrate. This time, eagle-eyed reader Allon Percus brings the surprising news that the city removed a crosswalk at Colorado and Yale Avenue as part of a bike lane project. The current configuration can be found in the lead image and a before/after immediately below.
In an email to Percus, City staff confirmed that the crosswalk at Colorado/Yale was intentionally removed as part of the broader project redesign in the Bergamot area.
“Yes, the crosswalk you are describing at Colorado/Yale was removed as part of this project,” staff wrote. “The screenshot you show from the design plans is from early design phases. The final drawings ultimately removed the crosswalk at this location and we redesigned the turn lane to be for bikes only so that we could establish a better presence for them and visibility as they connect to the Yale bike lanes.” A notice sent to the community in 2024 alerted them of the possible crosswalk removal.
According to staff, the decision was based on traffic patterns and crash history. The City now directs pedestrians to cross at the signalized intersection at Stewart Street and Colorado Avenue instead.
Percus us not convinced. “Is the assumption that, just because there is no marked crosswalk at Yale, pedestrians now will voluntarily take a 300-foot detour back and forth to the Stewart intersection (see scale on map below) just to cross the street? I feel like that doesn’t take human nature into account,” he writes.
The concern reflects a common urban design debate: whether removing marked crossings improves safety by consolidating pedestrian movement at signalized intersections — or simply results in unmarked mid-block crossings.
Santa Monica Spoke has confirmed they are working with city staff to find resolution to this issue.
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