SALT LAKE CITY — With students scheduled to head back to class in the coming weeks, nearly 1,500 crosswalks throughout Salt Lake City have been stripped and replaced for the new school year.
"They paint it with this new durable paint," said Paul Murphy, spokesman for Mayor Jackie Biskupski. "Then afterward they spray it with these glass beads that are highly reflective during the early morning and evenings so that its a lot more visible."
Along with crosswalks, the city has also implemented 88 school zone "flasher" signs.
"They're using new bulbs, new technology that are brighter and get motorists' attention better than what we had before," Murphy said. "Every time they replace a flasher they're replacing it with this new equipment."
Every year, workers strip and repaint the 1,483 crosswalks found across the city. Murphy said that of those, 250 are painted with the high-visibility paint inside school zones.
"This is part of the Salt Lake City mayor's efforts to make sure that kids learn, but also that they get to and from school safely," Murphy said.
Salt Lake painted its last "SCHOOL" sign at Blair Street and 1700 South on Tuesday afternoon. Motorists will find 349 more of these warnings across the city, reminding them when they're in a school zone.
"We time the school zones to receive a fresh coat of paint right before school starts for the safety of everyone who uses crosswalks and roads," said Parvis Rokhva, the streets division director, in a press announcement. "This work also serves as a timely reminder to drivers and students to be careful after the summer holidays."
Every year, employees use 15,500 gallons of paint on the city's crosswalks, Murphy said.
"The message we want to get out is 'School is about to start,'" Murphy said. "Motorists need to start looking out for students, students need to start looking out for cars."