Eastown Grand Rapids’ Three-Year Saga To Paint A Crosswalk

Grand Rapids is a city characterized by two things: beer and art. While the city is nicknamed after the numerous breweries scattered throughout Grand Rapids, the large art installations have done wonders in bringing a sense of character to the town. Murals, such as those in the city center and its surrounding areas, lend the city a vibrant and lively feel. Below are my personal favorites, one of which is an ArtPrize winner.

These murals are large-scale projects that require years of preparation and precise execution. But what does the process look like for a far smaller project in a high-traffic area? We can take a look at one crosswalk in Eastown that has been experimenting for the last three years to ensure its project doesn't go anywhere anytime soon.

Eastown's Pride Crosswalk

Sheldon Ave. E has the "Rainbow Road" street mural by Joey Salamon, which recently received a touch-up paint job. Murals like this have one downside that other murals don't: traffic. The wear-and-tear on the road's unfortunate side effect is that the colors can fade over time.

READ MORE: Grand Rapids’ Growth Spurt: A Citywide Transformation in Photos

It's a problem that a smaller installation with a similar message on Lake Dr. E and Genessee Street, the Eastown Pride Crosswalk, has been working to solve for nearly three years. Since 2022, volunteers have repainted the pride flags that adorn the crosswalks on Lake Drive East and Genesee Street on Pride Day.

However, the Eastown Community Association (ECA) has been seeking a more durable paint to withstand the heavy traffic in the area. In the latest issue of the Eastown Access newsletter, Dakota Riehl-David and Steve Staggs detailed the lengths this "experimental project" has gone to ensure the decorative crosswalks remain bright and beautiful for everyone who walks past them.

Three years of grassroots funding, research, and repainting culminated on October 5th when the crosswalk paint was sanded off in favor of resin-based ColorSafe® Methyl Methacrylate (MMA), which is engineered for high-traffic areas and stays brighter longer. Considering the paint is being used to show the rainbow, this is crucial.

When you see a crosswalk art installation like this, you'd never guess the level of work that went into it. However, this crosswalk (and what it represents) will now endure for many years to come.