Pedestrian Safety Murals

Project Overview

Raleigh Transportation, in collaboration with Raleigh Arts, is implementing several new murals and pedestrian safety initiatives in Downtown Raleigh. The City is working to improve safety at mid-block crosswalks in the downtown by constructing raised crosswalks, creating am opportunity for murals at select locations. Eight artists have been selected to design artwork to complement the future raised crosswalks.

Public Art Goals and Opportunities

• The artwork will be colorful, creative and highly visible design that enhances pedestrian safety.
• Artists are designing artwork using a limited Thermoplastic color palate. 
• Artists are creating their design using shapes that are large enough to be created using the thermoplastic technique. The thermoplastic will be cut out at the factory and assembled like a puzzle before being adhered to the ground. This technique lends itself well to bold/large design. Artists will avoid small shapes and overly detailed design elements.
• Artists will keep in mind passenger and vehicle visibility requirements when creating their designs, avoiding elements that look like traffic signs or signals (for example arrows, red octagons etc).  Text and letters are permitted when used as part of the overall design.

About Thermoplastic Murals

This project will utlize Preformed thermoplastic, a material commonly used for traffic markings, that can be printed in color with two-dimensional designs. Thermoplastic products are intended to last longer than traditional road paint and are what Raleigh currently uses for standard white crosswalks. Artworks will be designed by the project artists and printed by a thermoplastic vendor before Raleigh Transportation roadway staff installs the printed material with heat to complete the artwork. 

About the City of Raleigh Department of Transportation

The City of Raleigh's Transportation Department consolidates transportation and related infrastructure. Services provided by the department include mobility strategy and infrastructure, traffic engineering, transportation maintenance, parking operations, GoRaleigh transit services, highway maintenance, and development services. Learn more about Raleigh's pedestrian safety goals.

Additional Information

For questions, contact Jenn Hales, Public Art Coordinator for Raleigh Arts, jenn.hales@raleighnc.gov.  

For relevant information regarding the project, visit the Raleigh Arts website. 

The artist call closed in January 2025. For details read Pedestrian Safety Mural Call for Artist PDF.