The Transportation Department, in collaboration with the Community Development Department, is working on a pilot project to add artistic treatments to four crosswalks around the city. This work is being funded by a U.S. Department of Transportation Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) grant plus funding from Community Development’s Arts and Culture program. While the intent of the asphalt art is purely aesthetic, the project will evaluate how the artistic crosswalks compare to twelve control/no-treatment crosswalks. Performance measures may include safety, maintenance and community sentiments. This project will also help with the development of a guide for the future implementation of asphalt art.
The crosswalk designs will be developed by an artist selected through a competitive request for qualifications process. The artist and the project team will gather input from the community to help guide the final designs.
The four crosswalks will be located at 164th Avenue NE and NE 24th Street, 124th Avenue NE and NE 8th Street, 132nd Avenue NE and Bel-Red Road, and 106th Avenue NE and NE 10th Street. At each of these locations, one crosswalk will have a creative design applied and the other crosswalks will remain as they are to serve as controls/no-treatment crosswalks.
Timeline
The Community Development Department currently has a Call for Artists open for applications. Interested artists can learn more about the opportunity here and submit an application online here by the deadline on April 21, 2025, at midnight PDT.
- 2026-2027: Crosswalks will be evaluated compared to the control/no-treatment crosswalks and results will be analyzed.
- Summer 2026: Crosswalk art is scheduled to be installed.
- October 2025: Art designs for the crosswalk complete.
- Summer 2025: Community outreach and development of design. More information on outreach will be available on this webpage.
- April-May 2025: Artist selection