Tampa's Crosswalks To Classrooms Mural Project Reminds Drivers To Slow Down

TAMPA, FL — It was a rare day for children who live in the West Tampa neighborhood around MacFarlane Park Elementary School.

Instead of getting admonished, on Sunday kids were encouraged to play in the streets — but only long enough to help transform the crosswalk they use to walk to their school into a colorful work of art as part of the city's Crosswalks to Classrooms project.

Under the guidance of Jay Giroux, an artist with the READ Movement, and with the sponsorship of the nonprofit Walk Bike Tampa, kids and adults took to the streets at 6:30 a.m. with paints and stencils to create an eye-catching street mural designed to make the crosswalk more visible to drivers and remind them to slow down.

At 9 a.m., the MacFarlane Park Neighborhood Association and Sidewalk Stompers hosted activities in the park for the kids while the grownups put the finishing touches on the mural.

This is the 10th Crosswalks to Classrooms project organized by the city to calm traffic and reinforce to drivers that streets aren't only a place to drive cars; they're also a place children must cross to get to their schools.

Crosswalks to Classrooms is part of Tampa Mayor Jane Castor's commitment to Vision Zero, a global network of cities aiming to eliminate pedestrian, bicyclist and vehicular deaths on roadways.

Tampa Bay has the unenviable reputation as one of the most dangerous places to ride a bike or walk in the country, according to the Vision Zero Hillsborough study.

The number of pedestrians killed in crashes increased by nearly 10 percent in Tampa Bay in 2019 with Hillsborough County leading the way with 59 pedestrian fatalities, followed by Pinellas with 36 deaths.

Tampa Bay roads are equally dangerous for bicyclists. Of the 160 people who lost their lives while riding a bike in Florida in 2019, 45 were killed on Tampa Bay roads, and 11 of those were in Hillsborough County, according to the study.

Smart Growth America says there is evidence that a colorful mural painted in a crosswalk instead of the usual yellow stripes is more visible to drivers. Drivers tend to slow down when approaching a crosswalk mural, reducing the chances of hitting a pedestrian or bicyclist.

The street mural located at the crosswalk near MacFarlane Elementary School, 1721 N. MacDill Ave., just north of Main Street, is the latest of a series initiated by the city of Tampa Mobility and the Arts and Cultural Affairs departments to not only promote safety but also encourage reading.

The city's first artful crosswalk was unveiled in November 2019 at Rampello K-8 Magnet School, at the intersection of Washington and Jefferson streets in downtown Tampa. Its design features the titles of popular children's books "Harry Potter," "To Kill a Mockingbird" and "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea."

Similarly, the mural painted on Sunday features brightly colored book spines containing the titles of favorite books selected by MacFarlane Park Elementary School students.

A ribbon-cutting for the completed crosswalk mural with the city of Tampa and the nonprofit Sidewalk Stompers will take place on Oct. 6 at 8 a.m. in conjunction with National Walk to School Day.

More enhanced pedestrian crossings are set to be painted near schools throughout Tampa this year.

See related stories:

• Colorful Tampa School Crosswalk Features Popular Book Titles
• Safe Routes To School Program Focuses On Challenges For Students
• Tampa Unveils Initiative To Make Crosswalks Safer