Toronto bike lane has just been totally transformed by colourful street art
A downtown Toronto bike lane has just been tranformed into something colourful and exciting. It's all part of the City's StART initiative to add more street art to roads and public spaces.
The result is a series of concrete barriers along the Richmond St. bike lane east of Jarvis that are now covered in beautiful murals and art designed by local street artists.
Incredible work happening down at the #richmondstreetcycletrackmurals this weekend! We are so excited to celebrate all of the incredible artists and their vibrant work. Pictured here is artist Chris Perez, photograph by Cindy Scaife! We look forward to sharing more updates soon! pic.twitter.com/eT6GesUWmh
— StreetARToronto (@StART_Toronto) June 5, 2021
The barriers will be painted in four segments, earth, water, air and fire — with the first phase of the project: Earth + Air underway as of this past weekend, and the next phase Fire + Water starting this week.
Many artists hard at work today on the first phase of the @StART_Toronto @TO_Cycling #BikeTO #CyclingisElemental mural on Richmond St E - Earth + Air
— kanchan (@inHrEye) June 6, 2021
Please take care & feel free to cheer them on in this heat.
Next phase starts this coming week on Richmond St W (Fire + Water) pic.twitter.com/41i5VPH4tn
StART aims to enliven the city’s infrastructure and encourage active transportation through walking and cycling, making our streets more inviting and safe.
The program was created to showcase and mentor emerging talent and create opportunities for positive engagement among residents, business owners and operators — with a goal of reducing graffiti vandalism and replacing it with vibrant, colourful, community-engaged street art.
With Toronto Bike Month 2021 running until June 30, the city has also created a series of initiatives to celebrate cycling and to encourage people to get outside and ride safely, while reducing greenhouse emissions.
To inspire Bike Month activities, the city created a customized bingo game, webinars for bike safety and a log to document your rides.
Get some inspiration for #BikeMonth activities by playing bike bingo! Have fun, check it off, and keep on riding. #BikeMonthTO #BikeMonthYR #BikeMonthPR
— Bike Month (@BikeMonth) May 26, 2021
🚲Play Bike Month Bingo: https://t.co/JU0UMwOnEc pic.twitter.com/d0VQO0ON1G
Cyclists are encouraged to ring their bells while riding by the artists at work on Richmond St. as a show of support for the mural project.
The painting of the barriers will take place throughout the summer and there will be a rolling application open for any artists interested in participating.
