TRENDS Winter 2022 | Page 18

An Artistic Approach to Pedestrian Safety

partnership between the City of

A Cheyenne , Wyoming , its Downtown Development Authority , the nonprofit organization Arts Cheyenne , a local school district , and Ayres has resulted in several safer – and more visually appealing – pedestrian crossings in the City ’ s West Edge area .

Mark Christensen , formerly with the City and now an urban planner with Ayres , helped coordinate the crosswalk mural project earlier this year , working closely with Desiree Brothe of the Cheyenne DDA , Ayres ’ planner Logan Graves , and art teachers and students from three local high schools . The students designed and painted the crosswalks while the Ayres team helped navigate City processes and provide guidance to the technical aspects of the work .
“ We essentially gave the students a color palette to go with that complements what have historically been the West Edge colors but gave them a lot of liberty in what they wanted to do . We really just said ‘ Come up with something that focuses on celebrating Cheyenne .’ ” Christensen said , noting that the resulting designs featured everything from mountains to longhorns to dogs to bison .
The City Engineers ’ office required that the crosswalks incorporate a traction component to minimize slip hazards as well as be lined with reflective thermoplastic paint on the sides to quickly convey to motorists that these are crosswalks .
“ There ’ s been a large focus on pedestrian safety in the community ,
which has garnered a lot of support for this ,” Christensen said . “ We ’ re hoping it lives on so we can do it every year .”
Ayres ’ Landscape Architect Chris Silewski has incorporated crosswalk murals into downtown streetscape projects he ’ s worked on in communities across the country . A recent example is on St . Johns Avenue in Palatka , Florida .
While they require maintenance over time and aren ’ t appropriate for every intersection , he said they can go a long way in prioritizing pedestrians over vehicles and be an impactful tool when trying to create a downtown that is authentic and place-specific .
– Jennifer Schmidt
18 | TRENDS Ingenuity , Integrity , and Intelligence .