Slow Down for Art..another cool traffic calming project from the neighborhood that brought you "Paint the Pavement"

Last night, driving on Thomas Avenue in my Hamline-Midway neighborhood, I started noticing all of these random signs posted in the boulevards. I thought they were some interesting art project, perhaps sponsored by J&S coffee shop. Then I saw the Pioneer Press today and learned that they are part of a traffic calming effort devised by local artist Steven Woodward and coordinated with the Department of Public Works. From the article:

"Woodward said he chose images that are meant to convey — in a matter of seconds — the following information: People live here. These are people's homes. You should slow down...For example, a series of the signs is of a mother and child — an image he said should obviously evoke a sense of serenity and safety in drivers' minds. "You see a mother and child. What says protectiveness better than that?" he asked."

Check out the signs on Hamline Avenue between Charles and Blair and on Thomas Avenue between Pascal and Griggs. And while you're at it, check out the Paint the Pavement projects in our neighborhood too.

Images Copyright © by Steven Woodward. Read more here.