Kitchener traffic-calming mural project gets OK from city staff
Kitchener city staff have approved in principle a traffic-calming project that would see a mural painted on the intersection of Ahrens and Wilhelm streets.
If has his way, the intersection of Ahrens and Wilhelm streets in Kitchener will soon get a lot more colourful - and hopefully slow down traffic.
Lane Burman, the co-chair of the Mount Hope-Breithaupt Park Neighbourhood Association, has been working with the city to let him install a mural on the intersection.
Burman and his group first broached the project to council in June. Councillors will vote on it next Monday.
"I think that this is a step in the right direction, I've heard lots and lots of great feedback from other residents who want to do the same type thing so having this as a jumping off point is a great thing for our neighbourhood," said Burman in an interview with Craig Norris on The Morning Edition Wednesday.
"I think that [the residents] like the fact we're doing something for, specifically for traffic calming, that's our main issue. But building the community behind it is really important as well."
The group introduced the idea in response to a couple of crashes in the area. Initially, the group hoped for a four-way stop, but that option did not meet city criteria.
So the group got creative, taking inspiration from cities like Halifax and Portland, Ore., which have also used public art to calm traffic.
Community association will foot $1,500 bill
City staff estimate the mural will cost about $1,500, which will be paid for by the community association.
Burman said he plans to recoup the cost through the association's neighbourhood programs. All the program instructors are volunteers, which allows the MHBPNA to keep all of the registration fee, he added.
City staff have made some recommendations on how the mural project should proceed, including using a professional artist to oversee the design and painting of the mural. Though the report noted a professional artist or facilitator should be used, Burman said he thinks the neighbourhood association counts as a facilitator.
Burman said the group isn't sure yet what the painting will look like, but said it's important to get pedestrian crosswalks put in.
"As far as the inside of the intersection, it's quite small, so whatever we do has to be scaled accordingly," he said.
The neighbourhood association is meeting Wednesday night to talk about next steps, and if city council approves it, want to go ahead with the painting next spring.
The Mount Hope-Breithaupt Park Neighbourhood Association represents a section of Kitchener from King Street to Lancaster Street and from Victoria Street to the Waterloo city boundary.