My friend Dave and I were walking home late one night after some carousing when we came across this great scene--a little hard to see in the dimness of the light. But if you're like me and ever spent any time at all wondering how stripes for cross walks and lanes get painted on the street, wonder no more. They're not really painted; they're applied. Actually, they're melted on. You'll see in video below that use a hand-pushed contraption that is part Zamboni, part lawn fertilizer spreader. On board is a bin that holds white or yellow thermoplastic pellets with minuscule glass beads mixed in for reflectivity. There is also a propane-fired burner which melts the plastic just as its being applied to the street. It seems to harden immediately.
The crew that applies the stripes and crosswalks--at least for routine maintenance--are contracted by the NYC Department of Transportation to do the work. (This one happened to be based out of New Jersey.) They work at night when traffic is lightest--which isn't to say that traffic is light. These folks were working on Amsterdam Avenue with a minimum of cones and blinking warning lights as cars, trucks and buses whizzed by. It was pretty neat and not a little courageous!
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