There’s a new effort to make things safer for people walking and biking along some pathways in the Calgary area.
Town officials in Okotoks, Alta., have recruited local artists to create colourful safety messages on the surfaces of several pathways.
The illustrations focus on things like promoting the use of bike lights and reflectors at night and encouraging cyclists to ring their bells.
It’s hoped the new approach will have more impact than traditional safety signs.
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“Lots of times those things blend into the background and you don’t notice them,” town official Allan Boss said, “whereas the pathway murals are bright and colourful and friendly, and people will stop and actually read them.”
Okotoks officials commissioned four artists to paint safety messages, and between them they’ve created nine pathway murals around the town.
“It’s always a thing that the bolder, the brighter it is, the more creative the piece is, the more eye-catching it’s going to be,” artist Jessica Taylor said, “so having something like this really catches people’s attention when they’re coming through.”