Ornate crosswalks paving new ground

It was the question of the week around downtown. What is the elaborate design that appeared overnight on Congress Street behind the cement monolith of City Hall? Public art? A red brick gateway to historic Boston? A cleverly concealed message from city leaders?

No, the pattern of giant concentric circles set in a field of squares is the city's latest public works experiment, a faux brick fabrication that may replace ordinary asphalt and some of Boston's notoriously treacherous granite crosswalks.

About 50 of the crosswalks have been installed, most on Huntington Avenue, and more are being contemplated for other parts of the city.

Their appearance has triggered wildly varying reactions.

''They look like something I'll see on my next trip to Las Vegas," sniffed James Policastro, a Mission Hill resident.

''It's very beautiful," cooed Norma Geforest, who lives in Charles River Park.

''What is it?" asked Councilor John Tobin. ''Is it part of the new public art ordinance? Is it graffiti? Did someone put it there after a long night at a Faneuil Hall bar?"

The crosswalks are made from a form of plastic that is melted and poured onto the street, where it bonds with the asphalt. The designs can be imprinted to mimic brick or other natural stones, and the material is available in different colors. Boston chose cinnamon and white with a brick imprint. Because the plastic dries into a thin coating, the surface is essentially flush with the surface of the street, making the crosswalks easier to traverse in a wheelchair and ''very snowplow friendly," according to the company that manufactures them, Integrated Pacing Concepts Inc.

Public Works Commissioner Joseph Casazza said Boston may install them to replace its stone crosswalks, which are considered quaint but high-risk for people who use wheelchairs and women in heels, particularly around Quincy Market, where people often have difficulty navigating the terrain.

''Those granite crosswalks went in under urban renewal," Casazza said. ''For years, people have disliked and avoided them. We saw an opportunity to try this out."

The crosswalks can also be outfitted with special logos or designs, which has some city officials thinking about using the space for advertising and new ways to designate neighborhoods or landmarks.

Timothy P. McCarthy, an aide to Casazza, said the crosswalks have people talking. ''It's like public art," he said. ''One person sees a statue and loves it. Another one sees it and says 'What was the artist thinking?' "

The changes aren't inexpensive. While a standard crosswalk of reflective stripes on the asphalt costs a few hundred dollars, the Streetprints crosswalks cost about $5,000 each. According to the MBTA, which is managing the project for the city as part of its renovation of Green Line subway stops on Huntington Avenue, the price tag for 50 crosswalks and a major installation at Brigham Circle to be completed next week that will include a 45-foot diameter circle marking the gateway to the medical area will be around a half million dollars. State and federal grants will pay for the Huntington Avenue project. The city paid for the crosswalk near City Hall and would probably fund any additional ones, if officials decide to move ahead with more.

If part of their job is to draw attention, the crosswalks are already working.

''When we're doing them, there are like 30 people watching. They watch it like it's a show," said Jim Eng, a construction director at the MBTA. ''I haven't heard anything negative."

But John B. Kelly, of Neighborhood Access Group, which has been fighting to make the city more accessible to people who use wheelchairs, had little good to say about them.

He said the city originally planned for real brick crosswalks along Huntington Avenue. But after disabled people complained that brick tends to heave and buckle, creating difficulty for wheelchairs, the city backed off, he said. Kelly said he had hoped the city would install simple white crosswalks like the ones that exist at intersections across the city.

''We thought it was a little victory for us," said Kelly. But without consulting the group, he said, contractors installed the new crosswalks, which he asserted are only marginally safer for physically impaired people than brick. The imprint lines still cause vibrations for people crossing them in wheelchairs.

Some were not flush with the road surface, creating ridges or ruts that could be difficult for wheelchairs, he said.

''I tried out the first couple and they were OK; they were smooth," Kelly said. ''But then they started putting in more of them, and I noticed the thermoplastic was down below the grade."

Other wheelchair users had similar experiences, he said.

''They won't put down a vibration strip [to slow down traffic] or ramps that meet codes in large parts of the city that are largely inaccessible," he said. ''Yet they go ahead and spent a half million dollars to please institutions on Huntington Avenue. The city would rather please its institutional and developer friends with decorative crosswalks . . . than address the issues which we constantly bring up."

City officials said they believe the crosswalks comply with all requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act.