A street painting in east Portland has earned bragging rights as the largest in the city. In September, people who live in the Argay neighborhood partnered with the Portland Bureau of Transportation on a mural that spans 835 feet on Northeast 131st between NE Shaver and Prescott. The mural is 44 feet wide and a total of 36,000 square feet of painted pavement.
PBOT has granted permits for street paintings for many years and while research shows they have positive safety impacts, PBOT says much of that safety comes from the relationships people make with others in their community while coming together to make the projects happen.
The new mural on NE 131st emerged as a priority after the City planned to address speeding and other safety concerns on the street. In a survey of several dozen residents on the street 75% of them said the street is unsafe and 80% of respondents blamed speeding and aggressive driving as the main culprit. Gun violence has also plagued the area — much of it from people using cars to launch their attacks.
The concept for the mural design was created by local youth from Parkrose High School. The nonprofit Pathfinder Network helped connect PBOT to students impacted by gun violence and the City provided $10,000 for a nine-week training where the students helped design and build a traffic safety project. PBOT staff won a $25,000 Bloomberg Asphalt Art Initiative grant and worked with 200 volunteers to set the mural into motion. The design includes a river and natural landscape scene with clouds and butterflies. In addition to the painting, PBOT has installed a traffic circle and speed bumps.
“It’s pretty awesome to be part of something this big with a powerful meaning behind it,” said Mariah, one of the Parkrose HS students who worked on the project. “I’ve never done something this big before, let alone in a public space.”
In a recent email newsletter about their public plaza program, PBOT wrote, “The NE 131st Place mural not only adds beauty but reinforces the power of collaboration, local engagement, and youth leadership in addressing critical neighborhood concerns.”
Check PBOT’s website for more info on the project.
