It's Not Just the Pride Flag Near Riverfront: Spokane Uses Traffic Ticket Money to Paint Unique Murals Across the City | Local News | Spokane | The interior of the Pacific Northwest

A program to fund street art in Spokane continues to attract attention for all the wrong reasons.

In 2022, the Spokane City Council adopted a three-year pilot program called Asphalt Art, which set aside nearly $1 million to fund colorful crosswalks and street murals across the city.

The large Pride flag on Spokane Falls Boulevard was the first mural to be painted under the program. His mandate has been difficult: since its installation in June 2023, the fresco has been the subject of repeated anti-LGBTQ+ vandalism.

In May of this year, a few weeks after it was repainted to cover up previous acts of vandalism, a group of people set the mural on fire. Community members raised $15,000 to help repair the damage. But on June 5, just hours after it was repainted, police arrested three youths who allegedly shouted homophobic slurs at a witness and used Lime scooters to create skid marks on the mural. On June 11, the mural was vandalized again, this time with paint.

The repeated vandalism has put the mural in the spotlight — sparking debate over how the city spends money and vitriolic commentary from culture war media aggregators like TikTok Libs.

But the continued noise overshadows the fact that the Pride mural is just one part of a larger effort to create street art across the city. In addition to the Riverfront mural, the Asphalt Art program was created to fund street murals in each of Spokane's 29 Neighborhood Council districts.

So far, only one neighborhood – Hillyard – has finished choosing a design and painting its mural. But Shelby Allison, who manages the Asphalt Art program for Spokane Arts, a nonprofit organization charged with administering the program, says people should expect to see a lot more in the coming year.

“It’s crazy, because the only part of the program that has had some visibility is the part that has had a hard time being degraded,” Allison says. “But there’s a lot more going on.”

TThe Asphalt Art program is funded by money from the city's traffic calming fund, which collects revenue from the city's automatic red light and speed cameras.

The traffic calming fund is generally used to finance traditional infrastructure intended to slow down drivers, such as stop signs and speed bumps. But City Council member Zack Zappone and other advocates of the Asphalt Art program say research has shown that colorful street murals can have similar effects.

Of the nearly $1 million allocated to Asphalt Art, $300,000 was dedicated to funding two painted crosswalks in each of the three city council districts. The Rainbow Pride crosswalk on Perry Street, which has also been subject to repeated vandalism, was the first crosswalk funded under the program. Allison says others' designs will be different and an online portal will go live in the coming months, allowing people to vote on where they want the rest of the art passages to go.

The rest of the money – $672,750 – is being set aside to fund murals at street intersections in each of the city's neighborhood council districts. Each neighborhood council has the opportunity to choose the location and work with a local artist on a design that matches the themes and character of their area.

The Hillyard neighborhood became the first to complete the process by installing its mural at an intersection next to James J. Hill Park in early June of this year. The neighborhood council worked with local artist Matt Smith to create a mural depicting two outstretched hands with rainbow-colored arms inside a sun – an homage to the Children of the Sun. There are also images of a covered wagon and a cowboy hat.

“Their neighborhood wanted to emphasize diversity in Hillyard,” Allison says. “They were really excited to apply because they don’t have a lot of city-sponsored public art.” »

The Manito/Cannon Hill neighbourhood will become the second to complete the process when it begins installing its mural on Monday, July 1.

The Manito mural, designed by local artist Chris Bovey, will be painted at an intersection on 25th Avenue, next to The Scoop ice cream shop. It features an image of a turkey surrounded by lilacs, people on bikes, The Scoop ice cream truck and a wildcat – the mascot of nearby Wilson Elementary School.

Several other neighborhoods also have murals in the works.

The Browne’s Addition Neighborhood Council has finalized a project with artist Carly Ellis and plans to begin painting in July. The Shiloh Hills Neighborhood Council is working with artist Susan Webber on a mural that will be painted in September. The Logan, West Central, Latah/Hangman, Lincoln Heights and Chief Garry Park Neighborhood Councils are also in various stages of designing and connecting with artists, Allison says.

“We're going to be very busy next year,” says Allison.

Ttwenty neighborhood councils have not yet submitted an application on the program. Allison hopes those on the fence will decide to get involved once they see the results of the first murals. (The pilot project ends in December 2025; if it is not renewed, any unspent funds will revert to the city.)

Some neighborhoods are disengaged. At a public meeting earlier this month, Comstock Neighborhood Council President Jeff Mergler told city council members that his neighborhood had explored a number of models, but ultimately decided that the project was not feasible. The neighborhood had difficulty finding a location that met all the parameters and was also concerned that the mural would fade and become an eyesore.

“We really tried to make it work for us, but it just didn’t work,” Mergler said. “We would prefer the money to be reinvested into the traffic calming budget.”

Grandview/Thorpe Neighborhood Council President Joy Sheikh said her neighborhood was also passing on the opportunity due to the lack of suitable locations.

Allison says she spoke with another neighborhood council – she doesn't want to name them – who were “absolutely not interested.” But other than that, she says there has been a lot of enthusiasm.

“Neighborhoods are really excited about these projects,” Allison says. “It beautifies your neighborhood and is a quick way to calm traffic.”

When the murals eventually disappear, Spokane Arts will help remove them, Allison says. If the city decides to extend the pilot program, the murals could be repainted or replaced with a different design.

There is no data yet on the effectiveness of the art in Spokane, but Allison says the city is considering installing solar-powered traffic meters in several locations to track average speeds before and after installation art.