ROCHESTER, N.Y. — The Institute for Traffic Safety Management & Research reports that more than 14,000 pedestrians were injured and 300 pedestrians died in motor vehicle crashes in New York state in 2023. Cities are working to improve road safety, including Rochester, which is using art to draw attention to pedestrian zones. 

Reconnect Rochester launched a safety project called Downtown SmART Streets. The goal is to improve busy intersections with curb extension murals. It is colorful art painted right on the road.

What You Need To Know

  •  The Downtown SmART Streets project selected E. Main & Gibbs St. and Broad & Fitzhugh St. for the first two curbside murals

  •  Reconnect Rochester says 20 pedestrians/cyclists were killed in car crashes in 2023 in Monroe County

In any downtown USA, things move quickly. Lourdes Sharp and the Reconnect Rochester team want to slow drivers down at crosswalks so that everyone can get around more easily and safely. The non-profit is all transportation choices that enable a more vibrant and equitable community.

“As we know, speed is a major contributor, whether that person who is hit by a car is able to survive that collision,” said Sharp, project manager at Rochester Reconnect. 

To help, they are working on a mural project at two intersections that have heavy pedestrian traffic in downtown Rochester. East Main and Gibbs Street is one of them. It’s where the entertainment district meets the Eastman School of Music. The plan is to paint vibrant street murals to highlight the curb radius to help make every step across the street safer. It’s a safety initiative inspired by Washington DC’s ‘Arts in the Right of Way’ program.  

“What those do is it shortens the crossing distance for pedestrians. They spend less time in the road which means it’s a little bit safer and naturally drivers who are driving up to an intersection with those curb extensions, there is a smaller turning radius, so they naturally feel the urge to slow down while they’re approaching the intersection. So, through this project we want to help bolster pedestrian and safety,” said Sharp. 

Reconnect Rochester is asking for artist submissions to design the vibrant murals. Once it gets final approval from Rochester’s Traffic Control Board, the mural installation will happen sometime in June before the start of the Rochester International Jazz Festival. The other intersection that will get curbside murals is located at Broad and Fitzhugh St.