“Wait! Make sure they stop,” has been my standard crossing the street warning for years now. Our children still need the reminder. I do not think they believe there are drivers who would as soon run over parents with a stroller as chew gum — even when you give them the evil eye. Just in time for school, local artists brought the giant bees to three crosswalks. Now everyone has another reason to slow down.
Temperatures baked the Alliance pavement, even in the shade, last week. Under a pair of awnings on Tenth Street at Central Park Monday and Tuesday, paint brushes filled in where stencils had been each morning before the heat hit triple-digit territory. Carnegie Arts Center Director Kyren Gibson described the public art project as she painted with Sydnie Waldron from the Carnegie and Keep Alliance Beautiful Executive Director Kathy Worley. “Activate Alliance had the idea,” Gibson explained. “They reached out to me and I submitted a bee design with hexagons.”
Over about a week in late July, shortly after the bee-themed Heritage Days celebration, murals greeted drivers, walkers and cyclists where the Snake Creek Trail crosses 14th, 12th and Tenth Streets. The paintings occupy the entire swath of street between the fat parallel white lines. Worley proposed to alter the design for the additional two murals by keeping the bee as a central theme but alternating the accent imagery, Gibson said. It was decided that one mural would have the honeycombs, another flowers and the last one leaves.
Before the mural could happen days of prep work took place drawing out and cutting more than 72 stencils to be laid out as a guide for the murals. The three murals took 31 hours to complete. In addition to the Carnegie and KAB team, Gibson said, “there was wonderful assistance from community volunteers Maslin Breen and Earl Jones. Sam Mullens with the city street department helped in setting up barricades and keeping the muralists safe while working. There was incredible feedback from the community on social media and from pedestrians and motorists alike.”
Though the designs have yet to be announced, the Alliance High School art classes are set to paint crosswalks near the school. Janelle Visser, a health educator with Panhandle Public Health District, explained that the project fits Activate Alliance’s focus on walking and biking accessibility and safety. The AHS crosswalks involved are at 16th and Box Butte and between the gym and practice field. Two additional intersections for the student artists would be across Emerson Ave. near Laing Lake and 21st and Box Butte. Visser said the top four patterns were picked among 25-30 submitted by students.
Work on the completed crosswalks and upcoming ones, while done by volunteers, still requires supplies. Activate Alliance received a walkability grant through the Department of Health and Human Services, budgeting $500 per walk.
Crosswalk murals have been embraced by communities nationwide. Visser said PPHD is also working with Kimball, Gordon(both looking into it) and Scottsbluff/Terrytown/Gering.. Rushville completed one a few weeks ago, she added. PPHD has been gathering data on how the crosswalks can be implemented for safety and accessibility with information on flow of students.
Cooperation has been key to put the strategic art in place. “It was an incredible experience to get to partner with other local organizations to complete something beautiful for Alliance. I love the folks of this town care so much that they are willing to donate their time, supplies, funding, and even snacks to help create something that benefits everyone. Obviously as the director of the Carnegie Arts Center, I believe art is essential, but it was great to see that so many individuals and other organizations feel that art is an essential tool for bettering our community.”