Durham seeks community input on future crosswalk art along West Club Boulevard

DURHAM, N.C. (WTVD) -- Five local and regional artists were selected to submit preliminary designs for crosswalk art along West Club Boulevard and they need your input.

The Club Crossing Project will add new crosswalk art to the intersection of West Club Boulevard and Glendale Avenue. The site was selected because of a well-documented speeding problem and the many pedestrians and cyclists attracted to the area.

Durham's Department of Transportation, Cultural and Public Art Program, along with a panel and Durham Parks Foundation, selected Claire Alexandre, Candy Carver, Jai Martin, Renzo Ortega and Cassandra Rowe as finalists to each develop initial designs for the project.

The city is asking the community to provide input for the project through a survey through Nov. 30. The survey is available in English and Spanish.

The community will select one finalist in Jan. 2021. That artist will be compensated $5,000 to facilitate and participate in community engagement before installing the crosswalk art in late spring 2021 with a budget of $10,500.

The new art seeks to improve street and pedestrian safety and tie in elements from the surrounding Club Boulevard Elementary, Northgate Park, Ellerbe Creek Trail and East Coast Greenway.

The project is funded in part by the Bloomberg Philanthropies' Asphalt Art Initiative grant program, which helps small and medium-sized cities looking to use art to help safety and engage the community.

Durham was selected in July 2020 as one of 16 U.S. cities to receive $25,000 to fund the public art project.