At the request of then-Commissioner Meiner/now Mayor Steven Meiner, a discussion item (C4 E) was referred by the Mayor and City Commission to the Public Safety and Neighborhood and Quality of Life Committee ("PSNQLC") at the September 14, 2022 City Commission meeting to discuss options for incorporating artistic designs as part of sidewalk or bicycle lane barriers, in an effort to beautify the surrounding areas and promote the City’s arts and culture brand.  On January 11, 2023 a discussion of this item was held by the PSNQLC and staff was requested to internally discuss potential locations and determine costs.

At the July 12, 2023 PSNQLC meeting, staff described the current bicycle lane safety elements, including the bike lane separators and delineators, such as a Zicla. The Committee requested that staff to continue exploring options and alternatives including, but not limited to, those similar to the New York City's Department of Transportation Department's (NYC DOT) "Barrier Beautification" program, where artists are commissioned to create conceptual design templates to implement on temporary cement/concrete barriers. As discussed at the meeting, the Tourism and Culture and Public Works Departments would collaborate to identify future construction projects that may require cement barriers. No potential budgetary impacts were discussed during the meeting and the item was anticipated to return to PSNQLC in September 2023 for an update, however the item was not heard.

As part of its Barrier Beautification Program, the New York City Department of Transportation (NYCDOT) releases an annual Call to Artists to solicit design concepts from professional artists to implement public art at concrete barrier sites citywide. Barrier sites range in size from 200 to 2000 feet in length. The selected artists receive a stipend to cover the cost of materials to produce stencils to translate the design onto the barriers. The NYC DOT provides labor, paint, materials, and tools to prime the barriers and implement the designs. The murals are considered temporary and are only maintained for one year.

At the July 12, 2023, PSNQLC meeting, the Committee requested that staff explore opportunities where artistic concrete barriers may be utilized for construction projects. Tourism and Culture, Public Works and Transportation Department staff have met to determine potential construction project locations, and there are currently no projects that would require concrete barriers. In some areas, the City has deployed armadillos/Zicla (rubber barriers) or tubular delineators (white plastic poles) on existing bicycle lane barriers. However, the existing bicycle lane protection devices in the City do not allow for integration of public art.  Should bicycle lanes installed in the future require concrete barriers, those projects would be an ideal opportunity to implement a pilot public art project.

The Tourism and Culture, Public Works, and Transportation Departments met with local cultural organizations Oolite Arts and Moonlighter Fab Lab to discuss a potential artist-in-residence partnership with the City. Oolite Arts and Moonlighter Fab Lab presented an opportunity for an artist to provide design input to incorporate art in Public Works initiatives. The partnership was contemplated with Oolite Arts funding the artist fellowship (stipend), Moonlighter Fab Lab housing the artist in residence and the City funding the artist space at the Moonlighter Fab Lab location on 17th Street. The collaborating departments believe there is a viable opportunity for an artist to create design templates for the cement barriers as a pilot program, should there be a project requiring cement barriers.