A Knight Creative Communities Institute (KCCI) project to make school crosswalks brighter and safer moved to North Tallahassee's DeSoto Trail Elementary School on Saturday. The eye-catching colors and patterns are meant to grab motorists' attention and slow down traffic.
DeSoto Trail fifth-grader Robyn Pearce loves to draw and paint. So she was happy to lend her skills to the "asphalt art" exercise, especially because it will help keep her schoolmates safe.
"I think it will help the parents realize there's a crosswalk there and they should slow down at least a little bit, rather than speeding through the crosswalk."
And it seems a recent study by Florida State University showed that brightly painted crosswalks do in fact promote traffic safety in school zones. That's good news for DeSoto Trail Principal Michele Keltner.
"School safety is our number 1 priority. We want our students to be safe coming and going to school, so this project enhances that."
The project previously decorated the crosswalks near Kate Sullivan Elementary and Cobb Middle schools. The KCCI Creative Catalyst project team will head next to Sabal Palm Elementary.
