This past Saturday, our Denver Community Active Living Coalition (CALC) worked with WalkDenver and community members to install a fun new wayfinding art project in the Barnum neighborhood. Last June, the neighborhoods of Athmar Park, Barnum, and Sunnyside each won a grant for a neighborhood-designed walkability project by collecting the most data about sidewalks and intersections as part of the WALKscope Data Challenge.
Barnum community members decided on a wayfinding project for the Weir Gulch Trail to help people find their way along the disconnected trail path and access local destinations. Large decals with a map depicting the trail and local destinations were installed at key locations along the trail prior to Saturday's installation. Community surveys pointed out a segment of the trail that runs along W 2nd Avenue between Lowell Blvd and Knox Ct as particularly in need of wayfinding signage. Volunteers painted sets of paw prints that will help trail users find their way along the pedestrian and bicycle path that frequently disappears and reappears. Because the much of the land that eventually became the Barnum neighborhood was named after and once owned by P.T. Barnum of the Ringling Bros. Barnum & Bailey Circus, a variety of circus animal paw prints were chosen as the design for the "breadcrumbs" that will help people walking and biking follow the trail. They can be found along the path from Weir Gulch Park at Bayaud & Utica to the 6th Avenue bridge that connects Barnum Park and the new BMX park. The stencils and map decals were designed by a local artist who lives in the neighborhood.
If you missed out this past weekend, there are two more opportunities to help with a neighborhood art project installation! This Saturday, May 13, we will be in the Sunnyside neighborhood to paint an intersection mural at Navajo & 41st, just outside of Trevista Elementary. The community chose to install a mural of Frankie the Falcon, Trevista's unofficial mascot. We will also have some very special guests paying a visit at 10 am to help us paint: Trevista Principal Jesus Rodriguez, Councilman Rafael Espinoza, and Mayor Michael Hancock. Volunteer slots for this project are filling up fast, so sign up soon! There are still plenty of slots available for the third neighborhood art project, which will also feature an intersection mural outside of an elementary school. The Athmar Park neighborhood chose to install a street mural outside of Valverde Elementary. We will be at the intersection of S Tejon & Nevada on Sunday, May 21, to paint a locally-designed mural that incorporates themes the community told us they would like to see in the mural. The final design highlights the area's cultural diversity, numerous green spaces, and agricultural heritage. Here are some more photos from Saturday's event - thanks to project artist Tiffany Huisenga & WalkDenver for sharing these!
