The Southwest Business Improvement District (SWBID) had the busy intersection of 4th and I Streets painted with art murals to enhance traffic safety. The different colors separate the bike lane and adorn the crosswalks.
“This is just that moment of looking to the side and kind of resetting where you are,” SWBID Executive Director Steve Moore explained to WTOP News. In an intersection where cars, bicyclists, and pedestrians converge, the murals aim to grab the attention of drivers and pedestrians.
Was great to meet so many people today while painting at 4th & I SW . We also heard too many stories of close calls in this intersection! Thanks to everyone who stopped by, back at it tomorrow 🚴🎨✨#bikedc #chalkriot 🙏🏼 @DCVisionZero @SWBID @DDOTDC pic.twitter.com/DV1CwfuSyt
— Chalk Riot (@chalkriot) September 21, 2020
Director of DC Transportation Jeff Marootian said that the murals will notify residents of the “presence of others in the roadway that are using the crosswalk, that are on the sidewalk.”
The art initiative was funded from a grant given by the District.
Artistic Homage
SWBID enlisted artists Chelsea Ritter-Soronen and Gabriela Gomez, local artists of Chalk Riot, to paint the designs, which according to Soronen, “was inspired by the waterfront here in Southwest” with the concept that “small ripples can create waves of change.”
Soronen placed details like painted ducks to honor the duck pond, and musical notes to recognize the jazz scene in the area.
DC Council member Charles Allen cited the murals as an innovative “visual and physical cue that really creates a safe intersection for everybody.”