RICHMOND, Va. — Volunteers in Richmond gathered on Saturday morning to create colorful street art designed to make roads safer for pedestrians and cyclists.
The community paint day at the intersection of Laburnum Avenue and Hermitage Road was organized by the city's Office of Equitable Transit and Mobility.
Participants helped create a new public art piece that serves a dual purpose as a traffic safety measure. The vibrant colors of the street mural aim to alert drivers to areas where cars should yield to pedestrians and bicyclists.
FULL INTERVIEW: Richmond street mural leaves artist 'full and happy'
The artwork draws its inspiration from fifth-grade students at Linwood Holton Elementary School and was coordinated by a resident artist working with the Office of Equitable Transit and Mobility.
Sam Skrimpz said the project makes him "really happy."
"Helping to create the art, the art being something that is like the onus of the kids over at the school over there," Skrimpz explained. "And then putting their work together and onto a road format and also getting the community and to make it happen..., makes me feel full and happy."
According to city officials, these types of street murals have proven effective at slowing traffic while fostering community involvement and enhancing safety.
The project represents a cost-effective approach to addressing traffic safety concerns.
"In the general sense, a traffic project where we do full concrete, full engineering can take upwards of 5 years and several million dollars, right?" Annna Von-Harper with the Office of Equitable Transit and Mobility said. "These allow us to meet safety needs in a much faster time frame without spending millions of dollars."
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