On July 21, 2016, the Austin Transportation Department (ATD) installed a creative crosswalk at the 3700 block of Lake Austin Boulevard, at the marked crosswalk that currently exists at a Pedestrian Hybrid Beacon (PHB) at the same location. The creative crosswalk titled “Crosswalk by the Lake” will be the first of its kind as part of ATD’s Creative Crosswalk Pilot Program. The creative crosswalk application was put forward by artists Mery Collet Godigna and Luis Guitierrez, and was supported in part by the Cultural Arts Division of the City of Austin Economic Development Department.
The goal of the creative crosswalk program is to install safe, cost efficient and low-maintenance painted crosswalks by using a combination of colors, textures, scoring patterns to liven up an existing marked crosswalk. Special crosswalk paving treatments can break the visual monotony of the asphalt or concrete pavement and highlight crossings as an extension of the pedestrian realm. Creative crosswalks are a great way to showcase the culture and history of a neighborhood or serve as gateways to key civic, commercial and mixed-use areas.
ATD will monitor the first creative crosswalk for driver compliance and effectiveness as well as for durability of the markings. ATD hopes to install additional creative crosswalk treatments based on community input on streets that are important to the city, on key commercial and mixed use areas or at entries to residential areas.
Residents and business owners interested in pursuing a creative crosswalk in Austin should contact Austin 3-1-1 and visit austintexas.gov/department/creative-crosswalks for more information.
Photos of the Crosswalk by the Lake, the first creative crosswalk in Austin, are available on ATD’s Facebook Page.