Press

Magical Pedestrian Crossings In Mazatlán: A Project That Unifies Art And Urban Planning. (Noro, June 7, 2024)

In Mazatlán, We Have Magical And Safe Pedestrian Crossings. Have You Seen Them Yet? (Punto MX, June 6, 2024)

For Pedestrian Safety! “Magic Steps Mazatlán” Crossing Opens. (Línea Directa Portal, June 6, 2024)

Mazatlán Magical Pedestrian Crossings Project Inaugurated. (Quadratin Sinaola, June 6, 2024)

Mazatlán’s “Magic Crosswalks” Project Inaugurated With First Street Painting. (Noroeste, June 6, 2024)

The Project

At the bustling intersection of Columbia & Monroe Streets in Passaic, New Jersey, there were 32 car crashes (including 3 involving pedestrians and 1 involving a cyclist) in the time between Jan 1, 2020 – April 1, 2023. It was clear to city officials that something had to change. After a successful demonstration project nearby revealed that 95% of residents wanted to see a more permanent art installation that addressed safety issues, the City installed a new asphalt art project at the intersection, including colorful curb extensions to shorten crosswalks and a mural in the center of the intersection to emphasize that the area is not only for cars, but for pedestrians and cyclists too. The design was created by artist Angelica Otero Vargas, and was selected through a public art contest. Hundreds of local residents came together with the project team and Mayor Hector Lora for a community day of painting.

Use the slider to see the transformation

The Project

The Greater Bond neighborhood in Tallahassee was selected for an asphalt art intervention by the Council on Culture & Arts (COCA) and the City of Tallahassee’s Parks, Recreation, and Neighborhood Affairs (PRNA) Department due to its cultural importance within Tallahassee and its historically underserved status. The intersections of Saxon and Tucker, Osceola, and Linear Park were chosen due to their proximity to schools, churches, and the new Linear Park. Asphalt art provides a low technology method to protect crosswalks near these areas of heavy pedestrian traffic.

Finalist artists were selected through an open call process, and voting was opened to the community to determine the three final designs for the Greater Bond neighborhood. These murals inspired the community to connect with their environment and to remember their history through iconography which connects with its surroundings. The artists painted the murals over the course of two days in May 2023, with the help of 168 volunteers from the surrounding area. Community response was overwhelming, with each site having at least double the number of expected volunteers joining the paint day efforts. This project gave the Greater Bond community a sense of shared creative expression and pride in their neighborhood’s history and people.

• The percentage of neighborhood residents who chose Saxon Street for their daily walking route increased from 30% to 60%
• The percentage of neighborhood residents who felt positively about the intersections increased from 30% to 100%

Use the slider to see the transformation

Press

Three streets have colorful new look in Tallahassee’s Bond Community (Tallahassee Democrat, June 14, 2023)

The Greater Bond Community Receives A New Makeover (WTXL, May 26, 2023)

Asphalt Art Project gets Going (tallahassee.com, May 25, 2023)

The Project

In East Providence, Rhode Island, Mercer Street divides the Hennessey Elementary School from the Pierce Field athletic complex commonly used by the school community and surrounding neighborhood residents. With cracked sidewalks and lacking designated pedestrian crosswalks, the street did not provide a safe and walkable environment for students, families, and educators, as well as neighborhood residents walking and biking in the area. To address these challenges, the City of East Providence partnered with the East Providence Arts Council to commission local artist Anna Dugan to design five whimsical crosswalk murals through a community engaged design process. These colorful crosswalks were installed along Mercer Street with the participation of over 70 volunteers to provide safe, welcoming connections between the school and the recreation center. The new public art works catalyzed further improvements in the area, including the installation of new concrete sidewalks and additional street tree plantings.

• The percentage of people who reported feeling safe as a pedestrian increased from 59% to 91%
• Positive perception of the street rose significantly, with the percentage of people who “like the way the project area looks” increasing from 20% to 93%

Use the slider to see the transformation

Press

East Providence’s ‘Asphalt Art Initiative’ is completed at Hennessey Elementary (East Bay RI, September 14, 2022)

The Project

The University Drive Corridor Connections helps connect the one mile stretch between downtown Starkville and the Mississippi State University (MSU) campus by adding new, artful intersection murals at three locations and crosswalks at nine key intersections. The mural and crosswalk series progressively leads pedestrians along the corridor, creating a safe and attractive means of connecting Downtown, Midtown, and the Cotton District.

Community input was achieved through several surveys that helped refine the design process and ultimately focus on a cowbell theme. Cowbells are a signature MSU icon and strengthen the identity of both community and campus. The cowbells progressively line the crosswalks and intersections along University Drive in this asphalt art project.

Mayor Lynn Spruill decided to involve the community in the painting process by hosting a community-wide event, called “Cowbells and Paint Pails,” which included bands performing while people painted. The outlines of the cowbell shapes were created using thermoplastic for longevity, and the colors were added by volunteers using using a low-VOC and biodegradable soy-based paint. Free t-shirts were given to participants, and food and beverages were also provided. MSU provided an attractive street “barricade” in the form of its maroon streetcar. This served as an attractive backdrop for the painting, while deterring traffic during painting.

The success of these murals  in Starkville inspired an initiative to implement asphalt art in eleven communities throughout Mississippi, as part of the USDA Rural Partners Network Project.

Use the slider to see the transformation

Press

“Cowbells and Paint Pails” Paints murals on university drive (Starkville Daily News, August 6, 2022)

Intersections turning into art in Starkville (WTVA, August 4, 2022)

From the Gallery (MSU, August 2022)

Street art strengthens MSU-Starkville bonds (MSU, July 2022)

Starkville seeks input on future street art project (The Dispatch, January 28, 2022)

Starkville to receive a grant from the Bloomberg Asphalt Art Initiative Grant (WCBI, October 21, 2021)

Best Practice Highlight: Adapting the Design to Rising Challenges

The intersection in front of the Transit Center is heavily used by cars, buses, and pedestrians, so a balance had to be struck between closing the intersection for long enough to appropriately install George Bates’ design and keeping traffic disruption to a minimum. Artworks and Bates worked together with City officials and determined that their team could execute the mural painting over 16 hours on a weekend (12 hours the first day, 4 the second). The City coordinated this closure and Bates adapted his original design to be able to be more efficiently installed, making the shapes larger and with fewer overlaps. The first install day began with laying down coats of a yellow base, chalk grid and design lines, and then teams of volunteers were assigned a color to paint the silhouettes (one volunteer creating the outline edge with a small roller, another with a larger roller filling big spaces and others with brushes completing edges and detail work). Halfway through the first day, Bates removed some elements from his design, determining this would not reduce the overall impact of the design but would buy crucial time to complete the installation.

Artist Testimonial

Press

“Stepping into Tomorrow”: A Trenton Public Art Project (Trenton Daily, July 6, 2021)

The Project

The Club Crossing project aimed to create a fun and welcoming street environment for elementary school students, families, and residents to cross to the Club Boulevard Elementary School, Northgate Park, and the Ellerbe Creek Trail. The project activated the intersection and travel lanes by adding artwork to the crosswalks in front of Club Boulevard Elementary, reducing speeding on West Club Boulevard, and increasing yielding to pedestrians crossing. Based on responses from 1,800+ residents through an online community vote held in January and February of 2021, Candy Carver was selected to paint her winning design out of five designs created by local and regional artists. Carver worked with community members and stakeholders to refine her crosswalk design, and together with 39 volunteers installed the mural over the course of two days. The mural, “Our Oasis,” depicts blue motifs and reminds residents of the nearby creek and surrounding natural environment with colorful fish guiding the way.

• Potentially dangerous conflicts between drivers and pedestrians crossing the street decreased by 30%.
• The percentage of people who felt unsafe crossing fell from 85% to 6%.
• Community members who felt positively about the site rose from 4% to 77%.

Use the slider to see the transformation

Best Practice Highlight: Community Surveys

The City of Durham engaged community members throughout the design process by using various forms of surveys and community conversations. Through an initial survey, the City collected feedback from residents on usage and perception of the site, as well as what kinds of design interventions were desired. Five finalist artists were selected by a panel of community members and organizations and commissioned to create designs that responded to the needs and preferences of the community. This process culminated in a vote drawing in 1,826 responses, selecting Candy Carver’s crosswalk mural of colorful oceanic patterns and fish as the winner. Post installation, a school-day walking event was hosted for 160+ students to meet the artist and representatives from the East Coast Greenway, Ellerbe Creek Watershed Association, Bike Durham, and the Durham Park Foundation who discussed public art, street safety, nature, trail and park use, and connectivity throughout Northgate Park.

Press

Durham seeks community input on future crosswalk art along West Club Boulevard (WTVD-TV (ABC), November 9, 2020)

The Project

As part of London Design Festival, 11 crosswalks on Tottenham Court Road and a pedestrian plaza and crosswalk in the City of London were reimagined with distinctive, playful designs featuring bright colors and shapes. The artistic direction for the project was led by London-based artist Yinka Ilori, who worked with three art students from the University of the Arts London to develop some of the crosswalk designs, as well as community members invited to help paint the Queen Street pedestrian area. As the UK prepared to host the United Nation’s meeting on Climate Action, COP26, this project is one of several installations in international cities supported by the Asphalt Art Initiative to encourage more sustainable transportation and transform and revitalize public spaces through the power of art.

• 79% of pedestrians said these colorful crossings improve the local environment and feel of the street.
• Over half of pedestrians feel safer using these colorful crossings compared to normal pedestrian crossings.

Use the slider to see the transformation

Use the slider to see the transformation

Best Practice Highlight – Aligning with City Priorities: Recovery

The ‘Bring London Together’ project sought to aid the reopening and recovery of London after the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, bringing colour, life, and vibrancy to the streets of the City. The asphalt art installation was launched as part of Mayor Sadiq Khan’s “Let’s Do London” tourism campaign to support the capital’s creative, retail and hospitality sectors which were disproportionately affected by the pandemic. The domestic tourism campaign was the largest in London’s history, bringing together London’s leading hospitality, culture and retail organizations to offer an autumn season of design, fashion, film, art, and photography events welcoming City workers, Londoners and visitors back to the capital.