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Downtown Rochester is going to get more colorful this summer and hopefully safer for pedestrians. A new program called Downtown SmART Streets, led by Reconnect Rochester, aims to install traffic-calming infrastructure—like curb bump-outs and plastic bollards—and brighten it with the works of local artists.
“Downtown SmART Streets is the intersection of street design and art to make meaningful, measurable change where safety improvements are needed,” says Lourdes Sharp, project manager at Reconnect Rochester. “Rochester’s identity has always been an evolving, culture-rich mosaic drawing in crowds for various festivals, events, and movements. With this project we want people to have access to streets that encourage walking and supporting local businesses while making our public spaces more enjoyable.”
The project, inspired by the Arts in the Right of Way program in Washington, D.C., and the findings of Bloomberg Philanthropies’ 2022 Asphalt Art Safety Study, has been guided by a Community Advisory Committee of several key downtown stakeholders and local organizations. The Asphalt Art Safety Study found a 50 percent reduction in the rate of crashes involving pedestrians or other “vulnerable road users” after analyzing 17 asphalt art sites in several states, and a 17 percent decrease in the total crash rate, meaning other drivers are now safer as well.
After assessing materials, including a crash map of Monroe County, the committee conducted a street walk to determine the first two project sites at East Main and Gibbs streets and Broad and Fitzhugh streets. These curb extension murals, in addition to traditional plastic bollards, narrow the lanes and serve to slow vehicle turns, as well as shorten the length of time pedestrians are in crossings or on the road.
According to Reconnect Rochester’s data, in 2023 alone, 20 people were killed while either walking or biking on a road in Monroe County, up from an annual average of 13 fatalities.
Reconnect Rochester plans to work with Pittsford Traffic and Radar to help collect data on pedestrian headcounts, along with the top and median vehicular speed at these intersections, both pre-installation and during the summer, to see how much of an impact this new project makes.
In regard to pedestrian headcount, Sharpe says, “We want to see if making the street safer really invites more people to come out.”
Local artist Shawn Dunwoody at Dunwoodē Visual Consulting is leading the selection of local artists to develop the murals. The murals will be inspired by each location’s history and identity, working in tandem with the historic buildings surrounding the intersections. The hired artists will be paid $3,000 per location.
While only two intersections are getting a safety makeover this summer, Sharpe notes that the project budget includes the creation of new murals every summer for the next four years, in addition to the refreshing of the previous ones.
“Our goal is to have a network of curb extension murals by the end of four years,” she says.
Sarah Woodams is a recent University of Rochester graduate who works in climate technology.