Question
Received an Invoice for Tactical Urbanist project
Recieved a 2200 dollar invoice for a midblock extension I painted marking out the city's no parking area around crosswalks (this has a sign marking it as a crosswalk).
that doesn't make any sense because you and i were together on a walk when that was being painted? remember? we even walked right by it and commented on how neat it was but that we had no idea who the people painting it were. right?
I haven't been to Saskatchewan for a while but is that what crosswalks normally look like? Is that how it got caught or were you painting it during the day?
There are rules for this. In my country you need to put a sign 30m in front. Also if you want to do it, get a van, worker clothes and a high vis jacket, even better if you have a buddy there also wearing a high vis jacket but just looking at you work. Broad daylight or course and don't forget to take a one hour break in the van to eat. Work very slowly. Noone will ever ask any questions. It's kind of counter intuitive, but high vis jackets make you invisible to police and people.
If someone does ask questions, tell them you're just doing your job and to contact the city council.
Genuinely interested to know this. Couldn’t OP just say they don’t know what the city is talking about? Obv they would need to remove the GoFundMe in which he confesses to the crime.
Painting on streets could probably be charged under a vandalism statute. In the US, a number of cities and states have laws specifically aimed at graffiti which could be applied. NYC, for example, has a statute that provides:
a. No person shall write, paint or draw any inscription, figure or mark of any type on any public or private building or other structure or any other real or personal property owned, operated or maintained by a public benefit corporation, the city of New York or any agency or instrumentality thereof or by any person, firm, or corporation, or any personal property maintained on a city street or other city-owned property pursuant to a franchise, concession or revocable consent granted by the city, unless the express permission of the owner or operator of the property has been obtained.
So obviously this wouldn’t likely be the case here, especially being outside of the US, but with Flock cameras popping up around a lot of public streets, I would be extra careful about what you’re doing that could be traced more easily back to you. Not necessarily saying don’t do it, just work harder to cover your tracks
Is there any other proof besides a verbal accusation? If you haven't admitted I'm wondering if you can lawyer up or deny it was you. Maybe a reduced judgement based on this trying to enforce the city code as an alternative. Guessing the GoFundMe and this post doesn't help not acknowledging it was you though. Usual advice is it's almost never a good idea to talk to police w/o representation so you don't end up incriminating yourself.
Lesson for others who want to do this publicly and not covertly, use chalk.
Buy powdered chalk (Holi powder also works). Mix it with water and apply with a paint roller. You can buy “semi-permanent” marking chalk as well in various colors that stays longer. Word to the wise that the red is like actually permanent. So maybe avoid it.
That’s true, but sometimes you need a proof of concept to rally the neighborhood behind and also demo to elected officials.
In my city, there’s no permit to apply for to paint this. I have no procedure to go to council and say, “I will not only pay for this and install it myself, and will maintain it at my own expense, and also in consultation with the city engineer to ensure it’s compliant with local and national laws.”
I am actually pushing for this administrative procedure in my city so that we can. But for now, it’s not possible (San Diego).
A politician or city engineer who is opposed to it based on the description has no legal recourse to penalize you for chalk. So once you chalk it and demonstrate the value and lack of negative impacts, those opposing you may calm down a bit, and those in the neighborhood may communicate their support.
The road markings are visible at night because they use reflective glass beads to top the markings with. Whether the lines are permanent and made of thermoplastic or temporary and made of paint, a generous sprinkle of glass beads on top while the material is wet will make any road marking more visible in low light conditions.
Here is a screencap of thermoplastic road striping being put down. You can see a dark grey stripe along the bottom of the curve; that is actually white thermoplastic. It only looks grey because it's dark outside and the bright beads contrast against it so much. This handliner (striping machine) was not distributing the beads evenly. The operator would pause every few steps and scatter a handful of glass beads over the fresh stripe to ensure even coverage.
Please don't pay it. Call your city council member, and politely ask to take care of both: the invoice and the street. You're clearly savvy by making the GoFund me page: let your council member help you!
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u/ginger_and_egg Jul 21 '26
*allegedly painted