Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy on Thursday sent a letter to D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser Thursday saying that murals and artwork on District roadways are unsafe and asked the District’s Department of Transportation to identify potential areas of “roadway noncompliance” and plans for addressing them within 30 days.
In a letter that echoed remarks President Donald Trump has made about the city, Duffy said he was writing to Bowser to request “assistance in making Washington, D.C. safe and beautiful once again and restoring our pride in our Nation’s Capital.”
The letter was one of three Duffy sent to regional leaders: Duffy asked Amtrak CEO Stephen Gardner and WMATA CEO Randy Clarke to produce reports on their efforts to reduce crime at Union Station and the Washington Metro system, respectively. Duffy cannot dictate changes in those agencies or in D.C.’s traffic management, but both the city and the transportation agencies rely to varying degrees on federal funds. The federal government also has representatives on the Metro and Amtrak boards.
“The President has called for people to return to office, and it is critical we ensure workers’ safety during their daily commute,” Duffy said in a news release.
In his letter to Bowser, Duffy wrote that artworks on roadways “provide no demonstrated safety or operational purpose, adversely impact the effectiveness of other traffic control devices, and were installed intentionally to draw attention to their message rather than to promote the safety and mobility of road users and efficient use of the roadway in accordance with statute and regulation.”
The letter continued: “Any public roadway should use all real property and its associated right-of-way exclusively for the safe mobility of road users and efficient utilization of the roadway.”
Duffy’s letter was sent two days after Bowser signaled the city would paint a new mural at Black Lives Matter Plaza, a block from the White House, after a Republican lawmaker introduced a bill threatening millions of dollars in transportation funding if Bowser did not agree to erase and rename it. Bowser ordered the slogan be painted in large yellow letters on 16th Street NW in 2020 during historic racial justice protests outside the White House.
A workout is conducted in Black Lives Matter Plaza to celebrate Emancipation Day in April 2023. (Matt McClain/The Washington Post)
A spokesperson for Bowser declined to comment on the letter. A DDOT spokesperson also declined to comment.
Black Lives Matter Plaza was not mentioned in Duffy’s letter and it was unclear what other murals or artwork on District roadways he viewed as a safety threat. The Washington Post emailed the Transportation Department seeking clarification on which street murals prompted concern and whether the letter applied just to art on the actual road, or also to murals on walls and sidewalks adjacent to roads. The Post also asked if a similar request was made of other state and local government leaders. including those in Virginia and Maryland, and received no response. A department spokesperson did not provide answers to those questions by time of publication.
Since 2019, the District’s transportation department has managed the Arts in the Right-of-Way program, which incorporates artwork into parts of streets that are no longer open to traffic. The goals of the program, listed on the department’s website, are to: “Elevate the importance of safe intersections for people walking, biking, and driving; Celebrate the culture, spirit and/or history of the District; and Create a public canvas that features the artwork of District artists and/or graphic designers.”
Photos of installations on the site include brightly colored murals and collages on sections of roadway blocked off from vehicular traffic. The site does not say how many art installations there are in the District or if any of those not pictured contain any messages.
At least two recent studies have shown that street art makes roads safer. Total crash rates dropped 17 percent on roads where art was painted on asphalt and crashes leading to injuries dropped 37 percent, according to a 2022 Bloomberg Philanthropies “Asphalt Art Safety” study. And a University of New Mexico study the same year of intersections in Albuquerque and Philadelphia showed the number of crashes decreased in areas where murals were installed.
A portion of a traffic calming mural that sits diagonally across from DC-based artist Alma Thomas, created by Chalk Riot, in Washington D.C. (Chalk Riot)
Chelsea Ritter-Soronen, owner and principal artist of Chalk Riot, a District company that has created about 15 murals to improve traffic safety in the District, Maryland and Virginia, said she doesn’t understand Duffy’s assertion that the artwork create dangerous conditions for travelers.
“All of the murals we’ve created are not only proven by data to lower traffic violence and protect drivers, pedestrians and cyclists, but are also in strict compliance with the federal Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices,” she said referring to the USDOT manual that specifies standards for use of all traffic and road signs. “This effort seems like a strange priority.”
