I wanted to offer up any support and insight on the crosswalk discussion. It’s a great opportunity for artwork and messaging what creative change can be to the community.  

 

1.      Austin’s Art In Public Places program doesn’t have a sample maintenance plan for painted crosswalks. The maintenance and monitoring of this type of project is the responsibility of our transportation department. In these cases they are considered the User Department. This simply means they’re the group tasked with monitoring the work and repairing damage as they see fit. The street is a living thing. The traffic density on the street will greatly impact the life-span of the crosswalk. Not to mention moisture pooling  and pavement age.

 

A recent creative crosswalk project was executed in co-operation with the Austin Transportation Department (ATD). The ATD requires traffic surveys and fairly extensive reviews for all of the right reasons:  durability, slip factor,  or distraction to name a few. Neither our Art In Public Places staff nor the artists would have the skills required to assess and review this kind of project adequately. Nor would we want to encourage the risk associated with signing off on a project where lives are literally at-stake. Fortunately, we work closely with ATD and they are big supporters of creative crosswalks.

 

2.      Paint recommendations:

I suggest assembling a list of paint (or other media) brands you feel are contenders and present that to your transportation department. Once they’ve approved the paints ask them to agree in writing that these are appropriate. I regard this, not about shifting blame, but about maintaining some institutional memory. If something goes weird down the road you’ll have some support material regarding the decisions made.

 

3.       I’d recommend meeting with your transportation department for a list (if possible) of the does and don’ts with regard to crosswalks in your area. Maybe they can help you craft a standard  template for future crosswalks and help save time.  My guess is that there are a few overlays with local and state requirements. Cover your bases and hit all of the local and state marks. I’ve learned that a few feet can make a world of difference in transportation and right-of-way management. Err on the side of safety.

 

You’re about to discover an exciting and wooly world of inches, sight-lines and color limitations! It’s also really fun to see your contributions to the community of a regular basis. I hope all of this helps. Please update us on the project!

 

Good luck!

Frank

 

 

 

From: public_art_network@americansforthearts.simplelists.com [mailto:public_art_network@americansforthearts.simplelists.com] On Behalf Of Cheryl G Oliver
Sent: Wednesday, April 25, 2018 9:22 PM
To: public_art_network@americansforthearts.simplelists.com
Cc: Buddy Boswell <chefboz1@gmail.com>; Angela Crance <acrance@artandsoulvaldosta.com>; Bruce Smith <bsmith@s8darchitects.com>
Subject: Re: painted crosswalks

 

I’ll be most grateful if you’ll share any feedback you receive on this issue. We, too, are looking to painting some crosswalks in our community.

Thank you! 

Cheryl Oliver

Annette Howell Turner for the Arts

Valdosta, GA

coliver@turnercenter.org

   

Sent from my iPhone


On Apr 25, 2018, at 8:24 PM, Jennifer <info@sanbenitoarts.org> wrote:

Hi there,

We are looking to commission 2 painted crosswalks in the City of Hollister, and I was wondering if anyone could share the following:

 

1.      Sample maintenance plan for painted crosswalks

2.      Paint recommendations- best for wear and tear

3.      And any traffic/engineering requirements specific to California (i.e. if certain types of crosswalks merit the commissioning of a traffic study)

 

I would appreciate any feedback, links or recommendations.

 

Thank you!

 

Jennifer Laine

Executive Director

San Benito County Arts Council

PO Box 692, Hollister CA 95023

831.636.2787 www.sanbenitoart.org

 

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