Hartford-based law firm Trantolo & Trantolo placed the stenciled messages on sidewalks in West Hartford as well as West Hartford.

By Ronni Newton

Stenciled messages about road safety have created a bit of a kerfuffle in West Hartford as well as Hartford – not because there is anything controversial about the advice itself, but because they are being viewed as graffiti and unauthorized advertising.

A spokesperson for Hartford-based law firm Trantolo & Trantolo said the intent was to address Hartford’s “serious road safety problem,” and they used the services of an outdoor advertising company that had done similar campaigns nationwide highlighting statistics and road safety messages. According to the spokesperson, the messages were intended to be temporary, using either reverse power-washing or chalk.

“Look both ways before you cross” was the message stenciled near crosswalks in West Hartford Center and Blue Back Square on Sunday, Aug. 9. Below the message, in all upper case letters, was the sponsoring law firm’s name – “TRANTOLO & TRANTOLO” – and below that, in smaller font, “PERSONAL INJURY LAWYERS.”

Director of Public Works John Phillips, who at the time was also serving in the capacity as interim town manager while Town Manager Rick Ledwith was on vacation for a few days, told We-Ha.com that the stenciled messages were brought to his attention, and according to his maintenance staff, the messages were created with paint.

“Someone did it on Sunday, a non-work day,” said Phillips. “Nobody challenged them, and the police department didn’t see it happen.” In West Hartford, where many of the sidewalks are new and relatively clean to start with, all of the messages were done with paint, which according to the law firm’s spokesperson was chalk-based and intended to be temporary.

Phillips said that Public Works staff notified the police and removed 24 stencils – which he referred to as “graffiti tags” – in West Hartford Center and Blue Back Square. “We don’t care what the message is,” said Phillips, and even though the message itself was not “nefarious,” it’s still inappropriate.

“We welcome the idea of the message,” Phillips said, but this was done without prior notification and without any permission, and the use of the law firm’s name made it advertising, which is unauthorized. “The town is not selling sidewalk space,” he added.

A lively online discussion ensued after several social media posts highlighted the messages and the source.

“At Trantolo & Trantolo, our goal was, and remains, to draw attention to the very real safety challenges facing pedestrians, motorcyclists, drivers and families throughout our community,” CEO Scott Trantolo said in a statement provided to We-Ha.com. “If a temporary message on a sidewalk gets people talking about how we can make Hartford and Connecticut roads safer, then we believe it has started an important conversation. The chalk will disappear. The need for safer roads will not.”

West Hartford Police created a case report, and Phillips said the town will be creating an invoice and billing Trantolo & Trantolo for their labor costs involved in power washing the stencils off the sidewalks.

“We had planned and scheduled the removal of any remaining chalk stencils at the conclusion of the campaign,” said Trantolo & Trantolo’s spokesperson.

In Hartford, where more than 100 messages were stenciled, many using the reverse power washing method, Mayor Arunan Arulampalam posted the following message on social media.

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“Our intention was to use an unexpected format to get people to stop, look and think about an issue that affects everyone who drives, walks or rides on Connecticut roads. And the numbers are difficult to ignore,” the Trantolo & Trantolo spokesperson said, noting the following statistics which they noted are “not just numbers”: “24,468 crashes have occurred at Hartford intersections over the last 10 years, 633 pedestrians have been hit in Hartford over the last five years. 12,418 motorcycle accidents have occurred in Connecticut over the past decade.”

The messages are gone, but the discussion is ongoing. While it’s not always true, the old saying “There’s no such thing as bad publicity” may be the message that also lingers.

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