Achi news desk-
KVR Middle School students were out painting Jermyn Street on Friday as part of the City of Penticton’s new ‘Friendly Streets’ initiative.
This is the first of many street painting projects planned for Penticton, involving community collaboration, asphalt art and other creative elements.
“It’s a two-pronged approach. One, the focus is on safety, and we know there are studies out there that show that painted crosswalks and painted features draw drivers’ attention to their surroundings,” said Penticton Infrastructure general manager Kristen Dixon .
“So, there’s the safety element, but it’s also a fun way to engage the community and let them take ownership of some of this infrastructure.”
The installation is now painted on either side of a new intersection connecting KVR to Penticton High School.
The murals and painted concrete blocks mark a no-stop zone and will hopefully encourage drivers to slow down.
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“It really started when the chief reached out to us a while back asking about crossing safety in general,” Dixon said.
“We had plans in place to make the high intersection. And as we started working on those plans with the school, we thought why not make it more fun and add a painting element to it.”
The project has been in the works since January, and around 20 students oversaw the design, colors and concept of the mural.
The final design now links the school colors of KVR and Penticton Secondary.
“One of our designs in the warmer colors, the (Penticton Secondary) colors that are orange and purple, are circles that represent community, and they form triangles for strength,” said Degree student Emma Agarwal 8 KVR, Emma Agarwal.
“Our other design is in different shades of blue (for KVR) and that’s triangles and that represents unity and yet strength.”
The next art installation is planned for Saturday, June 1, at the intersection of Ellis and Nanaimo in downtown Penticton.
While the city works with a team of artists and volunteers to oversee this work, the entire community is invited to participate in this street painting project. More details will be released before the event.
& copy 2024 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
