Why Art Matters: Street Murals Bolster Community and Re-imagine Transportation | Article

This past year, my neighbors and I have been working on getting a project approved to paint two corners of a street intersection. Three years ago, the street corner was reconfigured to reduce car traffic and make it safer for pedestrians. We felt it would be further improved if we provided some markings to remind cars not to turn onto one of the streets at a four-way intersection, as indicated by city signage. We applied for a permit to paint portions of the intersection similar to other asphalt art projects in Portland. The idea is that by painting a bright mural on the sections of road that are no longer supposed to be driven on by cars, pedestrians would feel more comfortable walking through them and the effort would foster community building.

Asphalt art, at the intersection of arts and transportation, is any kind of creative intervention on transportation infrastructure. The infrastructure can be crosswalks, sidewalks, plazas, or anything in the right-of-way. It can include pedestrian plazas, signal boxes, or underpasses, or anything that requires the approval of the local department of transportation or public works.

The city of Portland, Oregon, supports many of these sorts of projects, as do many other cities around the country and world. Painting the asphalt is a low-cost way to reclaim public space for pedestrians, contribute to traffic calming, and reduce car accidents in neighborhoods. This is especially helpful during the pandemic, when more people need to be outdoors to get exercise, fresh air, and socially-distance from others.

Over the last several years, the Portland Bureau of Transportation has awarded many grants for the painting of streets, sidewalks, and other public spaces to promote active transportation (such as walking and biking), placemaking infrastructure, and safety for pedestrians and cyclists. The program attempts to solicit ideas from communities that have historically been underserved by city services. In addition to mural paintings, the projects include enhanced crossing treatments such as curb extensions, islands, rectangular rapid flashing beacons, cycle tracks, and multi-use paths for pedestrians and bicyclists at busy streets and nearby schools.

Computer-generated images rendering what the asphalt mural project on the author's block will look like when it is done.
Credit: First Forty Feet and the SE Community.

The projects are initiated, designed, installed, and maintained by the local community. Neighbors plan the design, location, and details of the projects at community potlucks, outdoor social gatherings, or through door-to-door outreach. The city requires the submission of a proposal and a petition signed by all of the neighbors that are adjacent to the installation, and a total of 80 percent of all properties along the street in each direction within 400 feet. Permits are issued for the painting and for a block party street closure during the painting.

Street murals are not new. I remember one in the Washington, D.C., Mt. Pleasant neighborhood (on Klingle Road NW) painted in 1988. What is relatively new (over perhaps the last 20 years) is that they are intentionally done to encourage people to walk rather than drive through a neighborhood.

In 2019, Bloomberg Philanthropies launched the Asphalt Art Initiative to help cities use art to improve street safety, revitalize public spaces, and engage their local communities. The initiative planned to award 10 small or mid-sized cities with grants of up to $25,000 to create murals on streets and intersections. Since then, Bloomberg has awarded 16 projects, but most of those projects have been placed on hold due to the pandemic.

Bloomberg Associates, the philanthropic consulting arm of Bloomberg Philanthropies, produced the Asphalt Art Guide to highlight successful art installations in cities around the world, and provide advice for cities interested in making their own asphalt art projects. Asphalt art encourages residents to take ownership of their streets, helps cities to redesign roads to make them safer, and engages community members in community art projects.

Asphalt art projects can improve crosswalks and slow down car traffic with planters, bollards, and colorful markings that emphasize that the space is designated for pedestrians. Traffic striping paint that is made to adhere to asphalt can be used to allow the painting to last longer and for the colors to be more visible to motorists. The Federal Highway Administration, however, did issue guidance on the application of colored pavement in crosswalks so as not to distract motorists from other street signage.

While the street plazas are intended to be temporary, as the paint will necessarily fade away over time, the projects often lead to more permanent changes as residents become used to seeing the space as more than just a sidewalk or street gutter collecting leaves and debris, or a spot for cars to park. Street plazas often lead to retail sales in the area increasing significantly, and vehicular speeds being reduced.

Street murals can help residents realize that they do not have to accept their transportation system’s status quo, but that they can be active participants in change. Giving people the right to paint their streets can encourage them to become more involved in the decision-making process for future planning of the street’s uses.

Regarding our street project, it’s currently on hold until we can get two more signatures and get the city to grant the permit. Perhaps we can engage people more in the spring-time.

Author: Rick Nunno