Charlottesville Police arrested local pedestrian activist Kevin Cox on May 21, four days after he used spray chalk to create a makeshift crosswalk at the intersection of Elliott Avenue and Second Street SE.
Calls for a permanent marked crossing at the intersection picked up last October following the death of Mamawa Simai, who died after being fatally struck by a vehicle while using a crosswalk one block away.
In emails obtained by C-VILLE in November 2024, City Councilor Lloyd Snook told Cox and fellow pedestrian advocate Renee Byrd that, “As I understand the debate internal to the city staff, it comes down to ‘There is no good way to make a Second Street crossing safe, because the Second Street crossing isn’t even visible to folks coming from Avon Street, so maybe the better bet is to try to induce pedestrians to use the First Street crossing and then focus on getting people to slow down enough to make the First Street crossing safe.’”
Cox and other residents have asked the city several times since last fall to create a permanent marked crossing at the IX Art Park-adjacent intersection. After months of inaction, Cox decided to make his own crossing on May 17.
According to reporting by The Daily Progress, City Manager Sam Sanders contacted Charlottesville Police Chief Michael Kochis after receiving an email from Cox notifying the city of the makeshift crossing.
While the email indicated the crossing was marked with a water-soluble chalk, Public Works painted over the markings after failing to remove them.
Cox (left) has been charged with intentional destruction of property, a class one misdemeanor. File photo.
