Taking It To The Streets

Just in case you thought there was no purpose in painting murals in the middle of street intersections, it's a lot more than just a decorative touch!

Spartanburg, SC

And how about this...they can save lives!

People in Richmond's historically Black Jackson Ward section have noticed that a certain intersection is now safer for both pedestrians and drivers alike since a street mural was added to a crosswalk. The mural salutes the Jackson Ward traditions of Black culture and progress. Episodes of cars slamming on the brakes and other near-accidents are down by 56%!

That's just one example.  A study of cities nationwide is showing far fewer crashes at art intersections now all over the nation.

Visions and his work

Chris Visions is the artist behind the murals in Richmond, and he says "the mural has encouraged pedestrians and motorists to slow down and take safety into consideration,” said Visions, 37.

Bloomberg Philanthropies’ Asphalt Art Initiative is the charity behind all this colorful activity.  There are three crosswalk art projects going on in Richmond, with the work being done by a group of art students from a local arts nonprofit. This Bloomberg group has ponied up the money, $25,000 at a time, to 41 cities since 2019.

And so while they were at it, Bloomberg Philanthropies huddled up with Sam Schwartz Engineering, a traffic consulting firm, to see if the street art was having any effect on safety. The resultant study showed that collisions were far fewer in areas with street art on the street itself.

There is even video evidence showing a 27 percent rise in the rate of motorists letting pedestrians have their right of way, and a 38 percent decline in pedestrians challenging the walk signal.

Janette Sadik-Khan, a principal for Bloomberg Associates and the former commissioner of the New York City Department of Transportation, says the crosswalk art “can improve behavior behind the wheel and it can protect the most vulnerable people on the road.” 

At first, some thought that it might be that brightly painted streets and intersections would cause drivers to be distracted, and in fact, it turns out that the paint increases the visibility of crosswalks and that makes drivers more cautious and alert.

“Not only will these projects do no harm, they can actually prevent harm from happening in the first place,” Sadik-Khan confirmed, pointing out that studies on the topic are few and far between. “This data shows that safer, sustainable streets don’t need to cost millions of dollars.”

She hopes all this information will inspire other towns and cities to consider paints their streets with designs other than post-crime markings. Bloomberg Philanthropies has put out a free Asphalt Art Guide, a how-to book for cities with a yen to beautify the corner of Elm and Main.