Student designs crosswalk of colour and whimsy
The asphalt artwork aims to encourage children to walk to school, drivers to slow down
KITCHENER — Lauren Rueb is starting her design career from the ground up.
Some day she may design buildings. But first she’s transforming two school crosswalks into colour and whimsy, birds and sea creatures beneath little feet.
“It’s a pretty big deal to have a painting in the middle of the road,” she said. “I’m excited, for sure.”
Rueb, 17, likes to draw. She studies visual arts at Eastwood Collegiate Institute. She entered a contest to decorate crosswalks at Wilson Avenue Public School. Elementary students voted her design their favourite.
“I wanted it to be universally appealing and especially appealing to children. So it has a lot of animals and bright colours and rainbows in it,” she said.
Students painted the crosswalks Tuesday with fanfare. The City of Kitchener closed the street to plan for music, food, games and speeches.
Painted crosswalks are meant to encourage children to walk to school and to dissuade them from crossing the street wherever they want.
It’s hoped they may also persuade drivers to slow by about five km/h.
Wilson Avenue Public School has a 40 km/h speed limit in front of it.
Planners fret that too many anx-
ious parents drive their children rather than let then walk or take the bus.
“Some don’t feel safe on these streets. We are working to create a safer environment,” said Leslie Maxwell, a school travel planner for local school boards.
Making the crosswalks more alluring is part of a bigger project that aims to get children out of automobiles and onto their feet and bicycles.
Maxwell argues that walking to school is good exercise, helps the environment, and makes students more alert and ready to learn.
“Twenty minutes of activity in the morning gives kids up to four hours greater focus in the classroom,” she said.
Rueb used purple, blue, yellow and green to decorate school crosswalks. Her design has a nature theme with birds and a tree and the Earth and the sun and a rainbow. There’s a squid and a turtle and a penguin.
“I like to be creative,” Rueb said.
She may study architecture after high school. She also likes science and physics. After a promising start on the ground, she has many options to soar.