How do you make accessing a vital community center safer for kids and adults alike?
BACKGROUND:
The area’s Youth and Family Development (YFD) center is an important homebase for social services and a gathering place for Glass Street residents, particularly for local children who visit after school for sports, play and study time. But the YFD’s location near a major thoroughfare made walking to and from the center a constant negotiation between vehicles and pedestrians.
NEED:
Over the course of the Planning By Doing Workshops, the Safe Routes Team identified a need to encourage use of the sidewalk in front of the YFD. The hope was that a creative intervention could make the building’s entrance more appealing and welcoming, while also keeping pedestrians safe.
VISION:
The YFD Safe Routes Team envisioned a Walk of Fame, located on the sidewalk from Crutchfield to Daisy in proximity to the YFD. This installation was created in partnership with local artist 2$on — himself a regular at the YFD growing up — and includes a stenciled pattern and spray painted stars mentioning local community heroes, and an outdoor art gallery highlighting pieces by local kids from the nearby Hardy Elementary.
GOALS:
- Encourage use of sidewalk near YFD, especially by children
- Honor locals through a Walk of Fame
- Beautify the street using art from local students
- Provide an opportunity for local youth to participate in art installation
PARTNERS:
Sarah Page
Jenison Owens
Kourtney (aka Tu$on)
Audrey McClure
Mary Barnett
Reach One Teach One
Hardy Elementary
