Madison Reporter

The City of Madison is set to implement an asphalt art project at three intersections along W Dayton Street: N Bedford Street, Marion Street, and N Frances Street. The initiative aims to evaluate whether asphalt art can enhance safety for all road users.

From September 15 to 19, city staff and volunteers will apply colorful roadway paint to create curb extensions and median islands at the selected intersections. Flexible delineator posts will be installed around the painted areas to help define the new spaces. Preparatory work such as striping and power-washing will occur in advance but is expected to have minimal impact on traffic.

The design for the asphalt art comes from Madison-based artist and educator Bernie Witzack and her studio Bernie & Zuzu. Chalk Riot, a group with experience in asphalt art projects, has provided consultation and will lead the installation process later this month. Funding for the project comes from an award through the federal Safe Streets and Roads for All discretionary grant program.

During installation, City of Madison Traffic Engineering will close two intersections—W Dayton Street/N Bedford Street and W Dayton Street/Marion Street—from 7:00am to 4:00pm each day. The street is scheduled to reopen by 4:00pm on Friday, September 19.

According to city officials, the improvements are intended to visually narrow travel lanes, encouraging drivers to reduce speed. Curb extensions are designed to increase pedestrian space and shorten crossing distances. The city notes that no part of the vehicle travel lane will be removed or changed; instead, the artwork defines its boundaries more clearly.

A study referenced by the city found that similar asphalt art projects elsewhere resulted in a 50% reduction in crashes involving pedestrians or cyclists and increased driver yielding by 27%. There was also a reported decrease in total crashes by 17% and a reduction in crash-related injuries by 37%.

The City of Madison has collected current speed and crash data along this corridor before installation. After applying the asphalt art, officials plan to compare new data with previous figures to determine if this approach could benefit other locations in Madison.