Many of you enjoyed the Shine Mural Festival in St. Petersburg last week.

  • City says murals at Central Avenue and 5th St. North add safety
  • More projects planned
  • Bay News 9, FDOT partner on Alert Today, Alive Tomorrow

But what you may not have known is one of those works of art is also making your drive safer according to Real Time Traffic’s Chuck Henson.

Artists filled the intersection of Central Avenue and 5th Street North with color.

The murals didn't just add beauty, the city says. They also added safety.

Cars slow down because of the color. The corners were redesigned so that pedestrians can better see. The city calls them “bulb outs”

According to Evan Mory, City of St. Petersburg traffic and parking director, the lessons learned are going to be applied to more St. Pete intersections.

“Where we narrow the intersection down, we tighten the turn radius, so the cars have to slow down to go around the turns,” Mory said. “The area the pedestrian has to get across, where they should expect vehicles, is shorter."

The design of the intersection and the one just finished in front of city hall are the same -- the difference is the cost.

One of them was about a quarter million dollars. The one at City Hall -- just $15,000.

Hope Michaud, who sets up her coffee stand across from City Hall every morning, loves the new design, but has been doing a bit of a study of her own on its performance.

"But I see cars, I've seen three of them go in on the inside of the poles today, thinking that's just the turn lane,” Michaud said.

City leaders say they'll fix that and will add planters and more colorful paint.

Then the intersection will be officially studied to see if it makes driving and walking here safer.

Depending on the results of that study, you may be seeing a lot more colorful intersections like this in the city of St. Petersburg.

Bay News 9 has partnered with the Florida Department of Transportation on its “Alert Today, Alive Tomorrow” campaign. The idea is to make sure we’re all sharing the road with people who walk or ride their bikes, and everyone makes it where they need to be safely.