Tucson, AZ
Painting a safer and more joyful gateway to downtown
The Project
In an effort to increase pedestrian safety, Tucson’s Department of Transportation and Mobility partnered with Living Streets Alliance to create a new street mural in between two well-utilized public amenities in Downtown Tucson, Armory Park and the Children’s Museum Tucson. They included several safety-building components, including:
- New crosswalks and colorful curb extensions at the main intersection of 12th Street and 6th Avenue
- A block-long turn-lane mural to deter illegal passing on the left
- A new mid-block crosswalk that includes new ADA ramps to improve accessibility between Armory Park and Children’s Museum Tucson
The community voted on three different street mural designs and color palettes that selected artist Yu Yu Shiratori sketched. She then incorporated the feedback she received from residents into the design that residents chose. On a sunny Friday in October, Shiratori and a small team of artists primed the street and chalked out a grid and the organic shapes of the design. The following day, over 300 volunteers showed up to help the artist team paint the nearly 6,000-square-foot mural during a community event.
- The percentage of drivers yielding to pedestrians with the right of way increased from 32% to 69%
“We saw this project as an opportunity to not only bring more visibility to people using the street, but to use art to weave their stories together. To highlight the people, cultures, and traditions that make a place special and reinforce those literal and figurative connections.”
Gabriela Barillas-Longoria, Project Manager, City of Tucson Department of Transportation and Mobility
Use the slider to see the transformation
Press
6th Avenue Asphalt Art Painting Party in Tucson (Arizona Daily Star, October 25, 2022)
Mural painting brings awareness to pedestrian safety on 6th Avenue (Arizona Public Media, October 24, 2022)
Watch now: Tucson creates new mural; brightens street (AZ Daily Start YouTube Channel, Oct 24, 2022)
6th Avenue Block-Painting Party to be Saturday, Oct. 22 (KGUN9, October 21, 2022)
Paint the town at the 6th Ave block-painting party (Tucson Sentinel, October 21, 2022)
For inspiration and tips for the creation of art on roadways and public places, download the Bloomberg Associates Asphalt Art Guide which features successful plaza and roadway art activations around the world, as well as key steps for developing such projects.
