You may have heard about an unusual crosswalk in Dartmouth.

A resident with an artistic flare added some paint to it in an attempt to make it safer. It's a so-called 3D crosswalk.

A lot of people are noticing it and so are municipal authorities, who say altering a crosswalk violates the Motor Vehicle Act.

Doug Carleton lives in the Dartmouth neighbourhood where the crosswalk was painted and says it's dangerous.

"I've seen cars come over this blind crest," Carleton said.

He says at night pedestrians can't see headlights from oncoming vehicles and the noise from cars gets muffled by the crest of the sloping street.

"And you have very little reaction time between the car coming over that crest and the crosswalk," Carleton said.

So Carleton, who has an artistic background, painted black lines and extended the white lines of the actual crosswalk.

"Everything that's written on the road gets compressed," Carleton said.

He's created what is called a forced perspective.

The black lines help transform the crosswalk into a three-dimensional image.

From the point of view from the oncoming driver, it changes how drivers see the crosswalk and "compresses the image down," Carleton says.

A can't-miss mass of white paint makes it more visible.

"It just amplifies the illusion that much more," Carleton says.

Bryce Tulley lives in the area and loves the idea.

"I think anything improves the safety of crosswalks deserves merit," Tulley says.

And for those who don't like it, Tulley says "the stats are pretty clear. People are getting hit on crosswalks. We need something that's gonna help."

Recently, city workers arrived and began scrubbing away the black lines.

But then they quickly left and haven't returned.

For now, Carleton's artwork is still in place.

"I'm unclear why the city wouldn't want it," Tulley says. "I'd be interested to hear why that is."

In a statement, Halifax Regional Municipality spokeswoman Maggie-Jane Spray says: "Municipal staff are currently reviewing the situation, with the safety of residents as our top priority. A decision will be made in the coming days regarding the status of the artwork at this crosswalk."

Carleton says his 3D crosswalk makes the street safer and he's not done.

"It's gonna get better," he said.

He plans to add more artwork to the other side of the crosswalk to make it even more visible for drivers who use the street.

With files from CTV Atlantic's Paul Hollingsworth.