West Dayton Street Traffic Safety Project

The intersections of West Dayton Street/North Bedford Street, West Dayton Street/Marion Street, and West Dayton Street/North Frances Street will receive an artistic makeover as part of a City of Madison project to assess the ability of “asphalt art” to improve safety for all road users. 

From September 15th to 19th, staff and volunteers will use colorful roadway paint to add curb extensions and median islands to these intersections, with flexible delineator posts added around the exterior of the painted area to further define the space. The project is designed to be semi-permanent, using paint designed for asphalt, and is expected to last up to five years. It is funded by a federal transportation safety grant.

Traffic Impacts

Residents and travelers along and near this section of the West Dayton Street corridor should be aware of traffic impacts during project installation. Starting Monday, September 15, the intersections of West Dayton Street/North Bedford Street and West Dayton Street/Marion Street will be closed between the hours of 7:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. The street will reopen to normal conditions by 4:00 p.m. on Friday, September 19.

Safety Improvements

The West Dayton Street asphalt art improvements are expected to increase safety by visually narrowing the travel lane, which encourages drivers to slow down. Also, curb extensions extend the pedestrian space and create a shorter crossing distance. Asphalt art does not remove or change any portion of the vehicle travel lane; rather, the art defines the limits of the travel lane, making all road users’ movements more predictable.

Other localities around the country have experimented with asphalt art. A landmark study found that asphalt art locations had a 50% reduction in crashes involving pedestrians or cyclists and drivers were 27% more likely to yield to pedestrians as compared to before installation. Asphalt art creates improved safety for drivers, too. Asphalt art locations had a 17% decrease in all crashes and a 37% decrease in injuries from all crashes.

The City Traffic Engineering Division has collected current speed and crash data for this corridor to be compared to data following the application of the asphalt art. This comparison data will be used to identify if this is a road treatment that would be beneficial in Madison for future locations.