Could more street art slow down Lexington traffic? City to explore options
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Lexington launches pilot street art program to improve traffic safety on Shropshire.
- City planners cite data linking street art to fewer crashes and near misses.
- Funding options include federal grants; final approval requires traffic engineer sign-off.
Lexington is exploring a new street art program that backers say could help slow traffic in high pedestrian areas and spruce up parts of Lexington, city officials said Tuesday.
City officials have recently started a pilot program along Shropshire Avenue. Chalk and other temporary drawings on Shropshire were hugely successful during the city’s Streetfest in May, an annual street fair.
Now the city and Lexington Fayette Urban County Councilman Tyler Morton are working with artists to put semi-permanent street art on Shropshire.
Morton said a community-led selection committee will hopefully release a request for proposal for artists sometime in September. It’s not clear when the art will be placed on Shropshire.
Hannah Crepps, a principal planner with the city, told the Lexington Fayette Urban County Council’s Environmental Quality and Public Works Committee Tuesday street art can be applied to lots of different types of infrastructure such is on sidewalks, crosswalks, curb cutouts or at key pedestrian crossings.
Lexington’s most well-known street art is the rainbow crosswalks on North Limestone near the Robert Stephens Courthouse Plaza.
Crepps said street art not only creates a sense of place but can help with public safety.
“Data supports street art as a traffic-calming tool,” Crepps said.
A study by Bloomberg Philanthropies showed streets with art had lower rates of severe injury crashes involving pedestrians and there were fewer “near misses.”
Louisville and Cincinnati have similar street art programs, Crepps said.
If Shropshire Avenue is a success, the city will have to find money to support more street art, she said.
Cities have funded street art in different ways, including federal and state transportation grants and community arts grants, Crepps said.
Any street art must also be approved by traffic engineers to make sure it complies with all local, state and federal traffic rules, Crepps said.
