Title
Street Mural Pilot Program
Description
This report provides information to and requests direction from the Transportation, Infrastructure and Innovation Subcommittee on a potential pilot project for the installation of a Black Lives Matter street mural in downtown Phoenix.
THIS ITEM IS FOR DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION.
Report
Summary
In numerous cities across the country, businesses, organizations and communities have been provided the ability to request, create and install street murals within the public right-of-way for artistic expression. Recently there have been efforts in many cities (New York City, Oakland, San Francisco, Minneapolis, and Chicago, and more locally Tucson) for the approval and installation of street murals in support of the Black Lives Matter Movement. Most of these street murals consist of the statement "Black Lives Matter" painted in large letters of either one color, multiple colors, or artistic depictions within the letters. The installations span across multiple travel lanes of city streets.
In Phoenix, community members have approached the City with a request to install a "Black Lives Matter" street mural in downtown Phoenix. Councilwoman Pastor requested the Street Transportation Department (Streets) and the street mural organizer meet to discuss the request and details such as potential location, size, cost, as well as safety and liability concerns. The street mural currently proposed by the street mural organizer would include the "Black Lives Matter" statement, as well as painted likenesses of civil rights leaders Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., César Estrada Chávez, and former United States Representative John Robert Lewis (Attachment A). The street mural organizer's request is to install the street mural either adjacent to or nearby the Talking Stick Resort Arena, Phoenix City Hall, or the Arizona State Capitol. Streets staff has been meeting with the street mural organizer to discuss the proposed street mural and the conditions and requirements of a potential street mural pilot project.
Installation of a mural in public rights-of-way is not currently permitted or allowed by the City. In June 2019, the City adopted a non-standard crosswalk treatment program (Attachment B), which resulted in the development and implementation of a Non-Standard Crosswalk Marking Program policy (Attachment C). This program is limited to City crosswalks and is the only non-standard markings permitted on City streets. Many of the concerns Streets might have in regards to a street mural pilot project were researched and addressed in the development of the Non-Standard Crosswalk Marking Program policy (Attachment C).
Since street murals are larger and more prominent than non-standard crosswalk markings, Streets staff conducted additional research into the practice of allowing street murals within public rights-of way. Specifically, Streets focused on the following areas: safety, risk and liability, federal guidelines, installation / maintenance / removal requirements, public forum legal concerns, and other pilot project requirements. These areas are further described below.
Safety
Streets has concerns about the potential for driver confusion with the use of any non-standard signage or markings in public rights-of-way. Depending on the application, street murals may interfere directly with pavement markings meant to direct traffic. With the majority of "Black Lives Matter" street murals installed in other municipalities, lane lines, crosswalks, and other painted pavement markings have been partially or fully obscured by the street mural. If a mural were to be installed on City streets, Streets staff would recommend not allowing such interference with any painted pavement markings in order to reduce the likelihood of driver confusion. The Non-Standard Crosswalk Marking Program policy (Attachment C) requires a 3-inch gap between the mural and street lane lines, crosswalks or other traffic control pavement markings.
Staff also has concerns that street murals draw driver attention away from the task of driving and could contribute to collisions. In addition to potential driver distraction, street murals may attract pedestrians to move closer, or even enter the roadway at non-designated locations, in order to view the street mural or take photos with or of the street mural.
To help address safety concerns, Streets would recommend any street mural be installed on a lower traffic volume street.
Risk and Liability
By allowing the installation of street murals within public rights-of-way, the City would be permitting conditions and pavement markings that are different from what drivers should reasonably expect on a public street. Pavement markings are standardized by the Federal Highways Administration (FHWA) in its Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices for Streets and Highways (MUTCD) to set national standards for all governmental entities to follow. If street murals were permitted on City streets, and collisions, injuries, and/or fatalities occurred in the street mural area, the City would take on the additional risk and liability associated with the use of non-standard pavement markings on its streets.
Federal Guidelines
The FHWA's 2013 Official Ruling on the Application of Colored Pavement memorandum (Attachment D) and its Frequently Asked Questions webpage related to interpretation of its MUTCD (Part 3 - Markings) both discourage anything within right-of-way that are not exclusively for public highway purposes. More specifically, FHWA states: "Intersection murals and street artwork have a potential to compromise motorist safety by interfering with, detracting from, or obscuring official traffic control devices. They can also encourage road users - especially bicycles and pedestrians - to directly participate in the design, loiter in the street, or give reason to not vacate the street in an expedient or predictable manner."
FHWA's primary concerns related to the application of colored pavement, and by extension to street murals, are safety-related. In essence, FHWA shares Streets concerns about the safety issues related to street murals, or other non-standard markings in public rights-of-way.
Installation, Maintenance, and Removal
The design, installation, maintenance, and removal of the street mural would need to be the responsibility of the street mural organizer. This includes all costs, material, labor, traffic control, and other resources associated with the street mural. This would be a requirement similar to the Non-Standard Crosswalk Marking Program policy (Attachment C).
The installation of the street mural would be expected to take at least one week to install and would require a full street closure no matter the installation location. The street mural organizer would be responsible for applying for a traffic restriction and closure permit, including the provision of barricades in compliance with the City's Traffic Barricade Manual. The street mural organizer would also be required to utilize durable, street-striping grade paint to increase the street mural's longevity and reduce its cleaning needs. City pavement markings typically last approximately two years under normal traffic conditions. Street closures and barricades would be necessary for installation and any future required cleaning or maintenance. For durability purposes, the street mural should also be installed on lower traffic volume streets to reduce the wearing of the street mural paint.
Public Forum Legal Concerns
Installation of a street mural, such as the “Black Lives Matter” street mural, can raise public forum legal concerns if installed in the public right-of-way. Some cities across the country that have allowed street murals such as these are facing legal challenges to their implementation.
Pilot Project Requirements
If approved as a pilot project, the proposed street mural pilot project would involve the installation of the "Black Lives Matter" street mural as requested by the street mural organizer. Streets would recommend the installation be on a downtown city street that has a lower volume of traffic. The street and location selected for the street mural would be mutually agreed upon by the City and the street mural organizer based on criteria such as suitable traffic volumes, appropriate street mural scale, likelihood of future street construction, and safety considerations. As the City does not currently allow or permit street murals, Streets would recommend utilizing the Council-approved Non-Standard Crosswalk Marking Program (Attachments B and C) to help guide the terms and conditions that would be used for a street mural.
The following elements would be recommended for the Street Mural Pilot Program:
- Street mural design will be reviewed by the Street Transportation Director.
- Installation location will be on a lower traffic volume street.
- Street mural design and installation cannot interfere with street lane lines, crosswalks or other traffic control pavement markings. The City will require a minimum 3-inch gap between such markings and the mural design.
- Installation of the street mural will be performed by the street mural organizer; and all costs associated with the installation including labor, material, traffic control, and other resources will be the responsibility of the street mural organizer.
- Maintenance, cleaning and removal of the street mural will be performed by the street mural organizer, including all costs associated with maintenance, cleaning and removal.
- The street mural organizer and the City will enter into an agreement for installation of the street mural, as well as future maintenance, cleaning and removal responsibilities and costs.
- Street mural design must not detract from the safety of the street and street users.
- Street mural design cannot relate to any illegal activity; depict violence or anti-social behavior; depict anything obscene, pornographic, vulgar, profane, or scatological; depict nude or semi-nude images (as defined in Section 11-811 of the Arizona Revised Statutes); or depict the use of tobacco, smoking products, alcohol or illicit drugs.
- Street mural design and location will be presented to and require the approval of the City Council.
If the street mural pilot project is approved, Streets staff will monitor the street mural installation for safety, liability and durability concerns. Streets will provide an update to the Subcommittee no later than six months after installation of the street mural pilot project, and based on results of the pilot may return with a proposed street mural program.
Location
Council Districts: 7 and 8
Department
Responsible Department
This item is submitted by Deputy City Manager Mario Paniagua and the Street Transportation Department.