College Avenue was closed late Friday morning through the afternoon as the city cleaned up after a prank in early February that went awry. College Avenue commuters awoke Monday morning, February 4, to find a makeshift crosswalk drawn across the roadway in white spray paint with the word “(s)troll” beckoning pedestrians across. The message remained emblazoned on the street, though campus safety officers had since blocked each side of the walkway to discourage pedestrians from using the fake crosswalk.

City maintenance crews first attempted to power wash the writing away, but to no avail, according to Community and Human Services Manager Stacey Cuevas. While suggestions were made to add sand to the power wash, staff feared it would erode the asphalt. In the end Ms. Cuevas said the Community and Human Services team opted for applying an asphalt emulsion—a thin, black asphalt coating painted on the street with rollers similar to painting a wall, she explained.

Ms. Cuevas did not provide a cost on the project, but did say that the emulsion was the preferred method to fix the street because of its low cost. She added that most of the cost of the project would be in staff time, as workers were needed to watch over the paint coat until it dried completely to keep from damage.

—Beth Hartnett

news@claremont-courier.com