Creative Crosswalks: Turning Streets into Safer, Shared Spaces

At the Neighborhood Design Center, we believe that through design, we can support communities in shaping spaces and the ways people experience them.

Across Prince George’s County, a new pilot program is an opportunity to do just that by using art as a safety tool and a way to strengthen community identity.

Creative Crosswalks: A Ground Mural Pilot Program will bring bold, colorful ground murals to five sites across the county, transforming everyday pedestrian spaces into vibrant, highly visible places that invite people to slow down and connect.

NDC is partnering with the Prince George’s Arts and Humanities Council (PGAHC), the Department of Public Works & Transportation (DPW&T) and the Office of County Council Member Jolene Ivey to support the initiative, which reflects the growing national movement of using art in the right-of-way to create safer streets and more engaging public spaces.

Where Art Meets Infrastructure

Ground murals, which are public art painted directly onto ground surfaces like asphalt, concrete sidewalks, or pedestrian plazas, are more than aesthetic enhancements.

Across the country, they’ve been used as traffic-calming interventions, helping to reduce vehicle speeds, increase driver awareness, and make pedestrian crossings more visible and intuitive.

In Prince George’s County, five locations will serve as ground mural pilot sites:

Each site will feature original designs by local and regional artists, reflecting the character and culture of the surrounding community.

The collaborative partnership brings together agencies focused on arts, transportation, parks, workforce development, and community safety.

NDC will lead data collection and community engagement efforts throughout the pilot, working to understand how these murals function in real-world conditions and how they are experienced by those who use these spaces every day.

This includes:

Findings from this work will be included in the Made You Look: Art in the Right of Way Toolkit, a countywide guide created to support traffic-calming and ground-mural initiatives.

By capturing both the process and the outcomes, NDC is helping to create a foundation for more informed, equitable, and effective investments in public space.

The timeline for installations, artist selections, and opportunities for community participation will be announced in the coming months.

As the project unfolds, NDC will continue to document and share what we’re learning, helping to build a clearer picture of how creative interventions like these can support safer, more connected neighborhoods across Prince George’s County and beyond.