A community- led inititive to design a road mural, and engage a local artist to install a mural as a traffic calming feature to increase road safety in a high pedestrain usage area on Gritten Lane, adjacent to Hancock Street Park. A section of Gritten lane adjacent to Hancock Street Park Images highlighted within artist brief (attached).
1. Build local capability and capacity Local artist, Fiona McCallum (more details below) was instrumental in leading the co-design of the project. With support from the Friends of Hancock Park members, Fiona engaged some of the older children (upper primary) who attend the park on what they wanted to see on the mural, and also asked them key questions like how they saw the laneway function in conjunction with the park. The kids drew images which informed the initial design. This design went through a series of iterations, including a review from the Bend in the Road Town Team for logos etc. To engage a larger audience, we coordinated the painting of handprints of children of the community along the kerb adjacent to the mural using the same colours. This was done on the project launch day (Saturday 22 March).
2. Change attitudes and behaviours Communication of the road safety message was embedded in the project via a few methods: Facebook Posts - In the lead up to the project delivery days, we coordinated social media posts that described the intent behind the project (see examples attached). We tagged in the local town team (Bend in the Road), Streets alive, TTM etc. - Signage We coordinated the design and printing of 2x vinyl banners thatare now installed next to the project (see photo attached). The banners explain the purpose of the mural and details the communty involvement in the project. - Project Launch Event In the lead up to the event on 22 March, we created an event flyer that was distributed via social media and in the local community. At the event, we acknowledged via formal speeches the funders and supporters of the events, and talked about how the project initiated, including the road safety focus. The event was a huge success, with approximately 100 community members in attendance it was a fun, casual way to engage the community and celebrate the launch of the mural. As previously mentioned, children of the community were also able to place their handprint on the curb to create a lasting impression of the value the community places on children.
3. Enhance street environment The project has received great feedback and is well loved by the community. Fiona, the artist understood the scope and the intent of the project and aligned well to the core values of our group. Road murals have historically been a trialled and tested project with the type of materials and paint for application and longevity. Fiona did extensive research and trialled different paints to ensure the finish would be durable on a road surface. The type of paint advised was Dulux Durebild® STE (Surface Tolerant High Solids Epoxy Coating) as a primer and Dulux Weathermax ® (High Build Re- Coatable Polyurethane) colour topcoat.
4. Trial a collaborative model The project was collaborative through each stage. The actual mural was delivered across 2 afternoons with a team of approximately 30 volunteers (15 each day). The laneway was closed to traffic and safely managed by an external traffic management company, courtesy of City of Stirling. The paint was commercial grade and ‘quick setting’ therefore not appropriate for younger hands. A safety and clean up station was set up next to the laneway for any unexpected slips or necessary first aid.
