07/02/2025 | Press release | Archived content
Published on July 02, 2025
Designed by Dr. King fifth grade students, the mural features themes of excellence, life, laughter, growth, and peace. The goal of the project is to demonstrate how low-cost measures can reduce speeds and make the roadways safer for all users all while celebrating the community and the students.
"Improving mobility in neighborhoods requires imagination and comprehensive planning. A key part of that is traffic safety for pedestrians, cyclists and vehicles. Outside STEAM at Dr. King Elementary is an ideal place for a demonstration project on how projects like street art can calm traffic and make safer streets," said Mayor Walsh.
The project is part of a $500,000 "Reconnecting Communities" planning grant awarded to Syracuse to improve multimodal connections along the east-west corridors on the Southside that have been negatively impacted by the Interstate 81 viaduct for more than half a century. A second demonstration project will be conducted on the Southside later this summer.
Feedback will be taken from both demonstration projects and it will inform the development of concept plans for five critical corridors on the Southside: Adams Street/Harrison Street, Taylor Street, Martin Luther King, Colvin Street, and a linear park corridor in the East Adams neighborhood.
"A major goal of this project is to build engagement and momentum and to illustrate the benefits of traffic calming measures. We are working to ensure that the post-viaduct southside is safer and more connected than ever before," said Joe Driscoll, City 81 Project Director.
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