New Orleans awarded $25K grant for street safety mural

Bloomberg Philanthropies is giving New Orleans $25,000 to design and install a street mural aimed at improving pedestrian and bicycle safety, the organization announced Tuesday.

Why it matters: New Orleans has the highest rate of fatal bicyclist crashes among major metro areas in the U.S. — on average 9.9 fatal bike crashes for every million residents between 2017-2021.

• The national average is 2.7.

What's happening: Arts New Orleans' Young Artists Movement will work with the Friends of the Lafitte Greenway and the Department of Public Works to install a "traffic-calming" mural at Lafitte Avenue and North Miro Street.

Zoom in: They chose the intersection because of its proximity to a school, playground, community center and bike path, says Jason Neville, the executive director of the Friends of Lafitte Greenway.

• "There is frequent speeding on Lafitte Avenue and wrong-way driving on [North] Miro, and no crosswalks or roadway markings at this intersection," he tells Axios.

How it works: The public will have input in the design, Neville says. In other cities, the designs include keyboards, rainbows, giant fish and other colorful elements.

• The mural is expected to be finished in August or September 2024.

Zoom out: The Asphalt Art initiative has funded 90 street transformations in 20 countries. These are some of the designs:

Editor's note: This story and headline have been updated to clarify the mural is also designed with pedestrian safety in mind.

Go deeper:

• Bike fatalities in New Orleans, mapped
• New Orleans leads country in bicyclist deaths per capita
• New traffic signals debut on Lafitte Greenway bike trail in Mid-City