When Kevin Cox noticed that the intersection of Elliott Ave. and 2nd St. SE in Charlottesville, Virginia, posed a danger to pedestrians, he did what any concerned citizen would do: He appeared before the city council and pleaded for them to make it safer before someone got killed.
The city council did what any typical city council might do: They completely ignored him.
But Cox refused to be ignored, and he took matters into his own hands.
'If we can't get traffic control cameras, and police won't enforce the law enough to communicate with citizens, then we have to adapt to physical methods to slow drivers down,' said Cox.
Using a can of spray chalk, Cox made his own pedestrian crosswalk at the intersection.
It worked. It grabbed the drivers' attention.
'After I put the first thin line down, I heard people in amazement say, "Look at that, the drivers see it and they are slowing down!'" Cox said.
But it also caught the city's attention.
'City officials noted that unauthorized infrastructure was deployed in the city's right of way,' Charlottesville spokeswoman Afton Schneider told The Daily Progress in an email.
They painted over his crosswalk and issued a warrant for his arrest for destruction of property.
'It was removed because it had potential to put the public at risk, for which we are responsible. No one has the right to set infrastructure in place except the City government.'
Cox turned himself in to the authorities, figuring it was no big deal since he used water-soluble chalk. However, the city stated they couldn't remove the chalk and had to paint over it.
The damage amounted to just over $500, which led to Cox's being charged with Class 1 vandalism, which is punishable by up to 12 months in jail if convicted.
It's too bad: If Cox had made a rainbow crosswalk, he would have been hailed as a hero, and the city would never have dared paint over it.
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