Brickbats?

I use this crosswalk every day. It's the last street I cross on my way to the train. The street is a frontage road for the highway that cuts through Denver (I-25, once called the Valley Highway because it follows the Platte River through downtown).

I'm trying to decide what I think about this brick veneer that's being added to the crosswalk (taking a crew of five or more guys multiple days to install). Is it supposed to be an esthetic improvement? A safety improvement? Will it be applied to all the crosswalks at that intersection?

Is this the best use of my tax dollars?