The traffic safety banner residency program, sponsored by NYC DOT Safety Education in collaboration with the Groundswell Community Mural Project, engaged New York City 6th – 8th grade students in exploring the traffic safety environment in the area around their schools. Through discussion of traffic safety issues and neighborhood observation, students worked together to identify problems and provide solutions by creating unique banners that speak to local issues. The project was facilitated at each school by a DOT Safety Educator and a Groundswell teaching artist. The banners, designed collaboratively by students, were produced by the DOT Sign Shop and installed at locations in the local neighborhood after approval from the BID. Their banners were installed along streets near the schools by neighborhood Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) and will raise traffic safety awareness and help prevent crashes and reduce injuries around their school community.
 
“Your Rush, You Crush; Don’t Break a Family” conveys the goals by communicating a strong, succinct message to drivers; that they should slow down or their driving decisions will have a human and economic price.