Painting Crosswalks in the Pocket

While attending the North Winton Village neighborhood arts festival in early September my friends and I came across a booth for The Pocket Neighborhood Association, http://northwinton.org/2013/09/18/volunteer-for-creative-crosswalks-a-public-art-project/. They were seeking volunteers to assist with a creative crosswalk project for their neighborhood. Since I enjoy volunteering and prefer projects that give back to the community and integrate the arts I knew this was a project I had to participate in.  So, after my early morning 5k run this past Saturday, I conned my friend Marcy into volunteering with me.

One of the things I love and appreciate about the city of Rochester is that there are a lot of neighborhood associations that focus on bringing people together and beautifying their neighborhoods. Since I'm just outside the city limit there isn't a neighborhood association, but at least my neighborhood is close knit.

Marcy and I planned on volunteering from 11-1pm giving me time to rest and prepare for my big birthday bash later that night; however the best laid plans often get sidetracked.  We were told to come any time during the day to help out, but when we got to main street we realized that all 3 crosswalks were already being finished up. So we walked and viewed them all then went to a community park the association had made and had lunch with everyone. They had speakers from the city and thank you speeches and by the time we got to starting the last 3 crosswalks on Atlantic Ave. it was 12:45pm.  So, Marcy and I ended up helping to paint one crosswalk which took until 4pm.  It was an awesome experience. We had the crosswalk with all of the youngsters helping us out so that was cool and fun. What I didn't realize was how difficult it is to paint on pavement. It took a long time and many coats. In addition, standing and kneeling on pavement for a few hours is also painful. I looked like an old person hobbling around after we were finished.

Below are some pics of all of the crosswalks and the crosswalk we specifically worked on. We painted with permanent road paint so they will be there for years to come and the city promised to touch them up if needed over the years.  We got a lot of positive comments from the cyclist, pedestrians and vehicles driving by while we were painting.  Another neat aspect is that I drive by the crosswalks often on my way to and from work and when I bike to the library so I too will get to reap the joy of seeing them in years to come.